


Divided Loyalties

by MuffinBrain



Series: Pharmercy stuff [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Long-distant relationship stuff, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-10-29 07:55:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 80,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10849719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinBrain/pseuds/MuffinBrain
Summary: With Overwatch active again, Fareeha Amari must reconcile her duty to Helix with her emotional attachment to the old peacekeeping organization.  Considering Overwatch is illegal,  the choice seems simple until a chance encounter complicates matters.Angela Ziegler joined Overwatch again after seeing evidence how Talon misuses her medical technology to save lives.  Not only are these experiments horrific but they're an insult to all she sacrificed over the years developing life saving technology...and an insult to memory of her parents.The story will attempt to develop a relationship between Fareeha and Angela while they are affiliated with HSI and the newly recalled Overwatch, respectively.  I don't want to focus solely on romance, and want to write them doing their job or interacting with friends/family.A few other characters will play a part (Torb/Bastion, Ana, Talon trio, etc.).  I should say, "Talon quartet" now...Rated for strong language, sex, violence...all the bad stuff.





	1. Chapter 1

“Torbjörn?”

“No,” the small, bearded man grunted an answer without turning to face the woman intruding in his workshop. He tossed a small wrench on to the metallic workbench; it clanged on impact with the surface.

The woman's face quickly showed her irritation with the man, “I didn't ask anything yet and you're saying 'no'.”

“Yet. I know that tone of yours, doc.” Torbjörn picked up another wrench, larger than the one abandoned from moments earlier, and began tinkering with some unrecognizable hunks of scrap. Doctor Angela Ziegler tried to make sense of the tangled mess of metallic parts with wires sticking out at all angles before something on the other side of Torbjörn's workshop suddenly caught her attention.

“Torbjörn, why did you bring a bastion unit with you to Gibraltar?” In the corner of the room sat one of the omnics Angela remembered fighting years ago when Overwatch was still active. Well, Overwatch was _sort of_ active again, just illegally. Angela couldn't deny that the bastion made her nervous; she remembered a close call Lena had with one of them back in King's Row during the insurrection. She believed all of them deactivated but here was a bastion, sitting in Torbjörn's “workshop” (which was just the largest room at the base the man claimed by moving all of his tools in before anyone else could get a chance to move their stuff in).

“I ah...found it in Sweden. It's not like the other ones,” Angela waited for Torbjörn to continue his explanation but the man busied himself trying to hammer a piece of metal flat against the bench. He was never one for conversation, unless it related to engineering. 

Still, she found it odd Torbjörn would take in an orphaned omnic considering his negative opinion of them. Angela prepared to question him on his apparent attitude change when the bastion interrupted her with a _beep boop breeep_ noise. She suspected the omnic finally noticed her since it stood up from its resting placed and turned its head from side to side. After a few seconds repeating this motion, it walked towards an open window in the workshop. Angela noticed a small, yellow bird fly in the window and perch upon the bastion's outstretched fingers. 

“It looks like it has a little friend,” Angela mused as she watched the bird hop onto the bastion's shoulder plates.

“What?” Torbjörn stopped hammering and turned towards Angela.

“The bird. I'm not sure what kind it is.”

“Oh, that's Ganymede. The little bugger was with the tin can when I found it.”

“Ganymede? Did you pick the name?”

“Yeah.” 

“That's very interesting,” Angela didn't expect Torbjörn to have an appreciation for Greek mythology. The man just shrugged and returned to his workbench. She wondered if he had a name for the bastion as well but decided against drawing out this topic any longer since she _did_ have a reason for barging into his workshop after all. Winston sent her to ask Torbjörn if he had some free time available to discuss a possible mission for the two of them. 

She started to speak before being interrupted _again_. This time, it was Ana Amari who walked into the entrance to the workshop. 

“Did you ask him yet?” The older woman looked towards Torbjörn before turning her sharp, honey colored eye towards Angela. Angela still needed to get used to seeing Ana with an eye patch. 

Angela shook her head, “He's being difficult, as usual.”

“I answered your damn questions,” Torbjörn shot back over his shoulder, body still facing his workbench. 

Ana's lips thinned as she crossed her arms. “Since I'm here now, I'll ask him. Torbjörn, I have a mission for you, if you choose to accept.” 

“No.”

“Torbjörn...”

“Ana, I need to set up my workshop here at base. I'm building something to help with our defenses. Besides, the big guy is in charge now, from what I've heard.”

It was true that most looked to Winston as the leader of the illegally reformed Overwatch since he issued the recall a little over a month ago. However, Winston agreed to allow Ana to plan most of this mission since she knew the enemy.

Listed as killed in combat years ago, Ana didn't receive the recall alert but heard about it through a “contact” of hers, former Strike-Commander Jack Morrison. This man, who now went by code-name Soldier 76, discovered the recall message via some of the old communications technology he “procured” in some of his raids on old Overwatch facilities. In the past year, Soldier 76 and Ana teamed up to prevent the terrorist organization known as Talon from getting a stronger foothold in the Middle East, which included Ana's home country of Egypt. The pair gained a great deal of knowledge about the terrorist organization and their tactics, which is why the once thought-to-be-dead sniper finally decided to come out of hiding; she felt a duty to the new Overwatch to share intel on Talon, their methods, potential weaknesses. Ana arrived in Gibraltar just a week ago and the base still hadn't quite settled down from her sudden appearance. Soldier 76 decided against rejoining Overwatch for the time being, still pretending to be dead. He remained in Egypt to spy on Talon. 

It was a tip from Soldier 76 that led them to this point. 

“Winston agrees that this is more important than decorating the base with your toys. I'm sure you've heard of Talon.”

“Yeah, the bastards. What about 'em?” Torbjörn finally turned to look at his old comrade.

“I have intelligence on a Talon research base located near Cairo. It was an abandoned Overwatch facility used for weapons research. You're familiar with it?”

Torbjörn nodded, “I remember that one.”

“Good,” Ana uncrossed her arms and rubbed her chin before looking in Angela's direction, “The base isn't abandoned anymore as Talon moved in at some point and activated the defense systems. Since Torbjörn designed this technology, he's the best candidate to lead a small group in an assault on the base.”

Angela nodded as Ana paused.

“The weapons...Talon likely stole most of them long ago, so we're not worried about confiscating them. They re-purposed the base and now it's believed they use it for medical research and experimentation. This is where Angela comes in. I've already shared some of this data I've found while fighting Talon this past year. Some of the things they're doing with nano-medicine.”

“Yes,” Angela's face was grim. The knowledge that Talon used her medical technology for torture sickened her. At first, Angela was hesitant to rejoin Overwatch after Recall. She traveled to Gibraltar a few weeks after Winston's message but didn't fully commit until Ana's sudden reappearance with damning evidence of Talon's gross misuse of her research meant to heal...this quickly made the decision for her.

Talon had to be stopped. 

Ana's face matched Angela's, knowing the thoughts going through the doctor's mind, “Here's an opportunity to shut-down one of these labs and retrieve more information. Which is why you'll accompany Torbjörn for this mission.”

“I will gladly accept the mission,” Angela replied. She really wanted to get her hands on more Talon research data to better understand what they were doing with her nano-machines.

“Torbjörn?”

“Bah, alright.” Torbjörn wiped his greasy hands all over his overalls and walked towards the two women. He removed the monocle from his right eye and looked up at Angela, “Pack up, we're moving out in an hour.” 

Torbjörn started leaving the room but stopped when Ana called after him, “Also, the bastion unit could come in handy and...it seems to have grown quite fond of you.”

The omnic made a _dweep doo breeeep_ noise and followed Torbjörn out of the lab.

* * *

Angela and Torbjörn took off from Gibraltar in a small VTOL; destination - a small safe house somewhere south of Giza. Ana used this place when she needed to hang low during her vigilante days when she went by the moniker _Shrike_. 

While they traveled on auto-pilot, Angela browsed over all the mission information Ana provided them. Torbjörn sat near the bastion and Angela noticed him making a small repair to one of the side panels on the omnic's right shoulder. The little bird sat on its other shoulder. Angela wondered if Ganymede typically got enough food (she noticed it pecking around like it was hunting for something to eat). Before she could speak up about the little famished avian, Torbjörn pulled a small sack out of his overhaul pocket and sprinkle what appeared to be bird feed on the bench beside the bastion. 

_Well, that answers that question._

Feeling hungry herself, Angela pulled out the sandwich she packed for the trip and ate as she continued reading Ana's notes. Soon lost in thought, she hardly noticed Ganymede fly over and land near her feet. Angela was always a bit messy when trying to eat and work at the same time; the crumbs lying at her feet (now serving as a second course for Ganymede) were proof.

The tiny bird finished its snack and returned to the bastion. Angela continued reading from her datapad until Athena informed them that they neared their destination.

* * *

The pair found the safehouse without issue thanks to Ana's directions. It was a rundown looking building on the outskirts of a small town somewhere southeast of Giza. A dusting of sand covered most of it. Inside the house...more sand and a few rooms with basic furniture. Angela wondered how long Ana stayed here; it didn't look like someone lived in it for very long. 

Torbjörn immediately got down to business; he prepared a small drone to scout out the Talon base before the two would make the mile and a half trip there themselves. While he worked, the bastion unit busied itself with studying some plants sitting on one of the windowsills in the main room. To Angela's surprise, the plants were living...perhaps they didn't need much water?

Moments later, Torbjörn sent off his drone with a remote controlled device. While he monitored the initial readings coming in from the little scout droid, Angela investigated the garage adjacent to the safehouse. According to Ana, the garage should hold a small all-terrain vehicle capable of traveling in the desert with enough room for both of them plus the omnic. Luckily, the ATV was still there and intact; Angela discovered it still had wheels so must have been an older model. She opened the driver's side door and entered the code Ana gave her for the ignition. Thankfully, it started and had plenty of fuel to get them to and from the Talon base. The ATV looked one hundred percent operational to her but she would have peace of mind if Torbjörn looked over it before their trip.

Angela returned to the house to find nothing changed with her partners while she was gone. She dusted dirt off one of the small wooden chairs at the round table near the center of the room and took a seat, studying some research notes on her datapad. Absorbed in her work, she lost track of time, until Torbjörn slammed a fist on the desk where his monitoring equipment sat. 

“Dammit, I think something happened to my little drone. The signal's gone.”

“Gone?” Angela looked up from her datapad.

“Gone, no more signal. Gone.” the small man fumed and waved his mechanical claw arm in the air over his head. 

“Of course, this couldn't be easy,” Angela sighed. “I suppose we'll have to investigate without your little toy.”

Torbjörn stormed out towards the safehouse door, “Bah, let's go. The vehicle Ana mentioned is in the garage? It works?”

“Yes, but you should inspect it and make sure it won't break down in the middle of the desert first.” Angela picked up her equipment and joined him at the door. 

“You coming? We might need your firepower if Talon has anything to do with this,” Torbjörn called back to the bastion unit studying a painting on the wall. “But I hope we won't.”

The omnic acknowledged the man with a _dweeep doo wreee_.

It would be a lie to say Angela wasn't worried about fighting along side a bastion unit. Could it distinguish friend from foe? Torbjörn informed her it wouldn't be a problem. She just had to put her trust in his word. 

Great.

After Torbjörn gave the ATV a diagnostic check-up, the trio set out towards the last known location of the scouting drone; by his estimates, it was close to the Talon base.

* * *

Angela took the wheel and drove out into the desert while Torbjörn gave her directions determined by the known trajectory of his drone.

As they neared the last known coordinates of the scouting contraption, they discovered fences and what appeared to be guard towers blocking their path. Angela stopped the ATV well before the fence, hoping that whoever guarded this area didn't spot them.

“Now what?” Angela turned to Torbjörn. The man was digging through a backpack he brought along for the mission.

“Eh, well, I'll try to get a look.” He pulled out a pair of binoculars from his bag and opened the door to leave the ATV. 

“Be careful you don't get spotted yourself,” Angela warned, concern in her voice.

“Don't worry about it,” he grumbled and left her alone with the bastion. 

Angela still reached for her pistol, just in case. She had donned her Valkyrie for the mission, though slightly adjusted from the typical 'angelic' version she normally wore on her relief missions around the world. With this one, she swapped the white sections with a darker gray and removed the halo; “Guardian Angel” didn't fit the mission theme so she dropped it. Angela had no idea why this even mattered to her but it did.

After a minute or two, Torbjörn returned and plopped down in the passenger's seat. He brought a bit of chill from the night air with him.

“It looks like some sort of barricade set up by Helix Security,” the man informed her of his findings with a hint of worry on his face.

“I wonder if this has anything to do with the Talon base?”

The sudden noise of what sounded like jet engines startled both before Torbjörn's could answer. 

“Well, this might be bad.”

“You don't say, Torbjörn.”

Looking out the window on their ATV, they both caught sight of three armored figures slowly descending towards their location from the sky.

“Ooooh...” Torbjörn sounded like he was in awe? Why did he sound that way?

“Why 'ooooh'?” Angela did her best impression of the sound the small man made seconds earlier. “What's going on, Torbjörn?”

“They're piloting _Raptora Mark VI_ suits,” Torbjörn whispered as the armored guards (Angela assumed they were guards) approached them in the ATV. “I've never seen them in action before. I know the engineer with Helix who designed them.” He started prattling on with technical jargon that Angela ignored. She worried how these guards would react to discovering two armed people plus an active bastion unit in a ATV (that was probably stolen) outside of their outpost.

One of the guards approached her window with a flashlight. Angela placed her hands above her head. Torbjörn mimicked her. The bastion in the back of the ATV ignored them all, preoccupied with his bird friend. She hoped it wouldn't start firing at the guards.

The armored guard opened the door and motioned for Angela to leave the vehicle. He first addressed her in Arabic before switching to English.

“What are you two doing out here tonight?” Angela noticed the _HSI_ logo on the man's breastplate. He also carried what looked like a rocket launcher. She froze and quickly tried to think of something... 

“We're a little lost,” she heard Torbjörn reply behind her. Thankfully, Torbjörn knew how to bullshit. “I'm Torbjörn Lindholm. Is Sayed still with Helix? I helped him design part of the suit you're wearing. The rockets...”

“Er, Lieutenant? You've got to see this.” The third guard cut off Torbjörn and motioned for the man beside Angela to join her. 

“What is it, Sergeant?” He moved closer to his squadmate. Angela followed their eyes to the bastion in the back of the ATV. The bastion simply waved back at everyone staring through the open door.

“It looks like one of those bastion units from the old war.”

“You're both coming with us,” The Lieutenant ordered. “We'll send for a truck to haul this vehicle back.” He motioned the pair to follow towards the Helix outpost; weapons trained on them. They quickly confiscated Angela's pistol and Torbjörn's rivet gun.

Angela shot Torbjörn a worried look; he returned it with a lopsided grin and a shrug.

_Hopefully he'll think of something._

* * *

“You're lucky Mr. Sayed vouched for you.” 

Torbjörn gave Angela a smug look that said _I told you so_. The Helix Security Lieutenant didn't look as happy about the news, having to release the two from their custody. Mr. Sayed, now a high-ranking member of Helix, was an old colleague and friend of Torbjörn's. Knowing Torbjörn and his eccentricities, the man probably wasn't surprised by any of this. 

As for the missing scout drone, it turns out, the Helix patrol discovered it and agreed to return it to Torbjörn as well as the bastion, which was still in the ATV outside the base. In the chaos of their capture, Angela left her Caduceus staff in the vehicle with the bastion and couldn't wait to get it back. 

It closed in on an hour and a half that Angela and Torbjörn spent waiting at the Helix outpost; most of that time spent in a small room with just the Lieutenant. Finally, they could leave! 

Before they could leave, the door to the room opened and another guard stepped in,

“Lieutenant Saleh, you have an urgent call from the captain.”

Saleh turned to the two captives, “I'm going to ask you two to remain here until I take this call. It might have something to do with this incident. I doubt anything has changed, however.”

“That's fine,” Angela replied. She wanted to be as cooperative as possible since they were so close to getting out of this place. 

Torbjörn shook his head in agreement; partially distracted and tinkering with the drone he'd just recently recovered. 

The Lieutenant returned to the room after a few minutes.

“Nothing's changed and you're still free to go. However, the captain is on her way and would like to speak with you,” he looked at Torbjörn. 

“Why? I thought you were done with us?”

“She's another old friend of yours. You know Captain Fareeha Amari?”


	2. Chapter 2

Fareeha Amari yawned and stretched; seated at the large oak desk in her office at HSI headquarters near the Temple of Anubis facility. Thus far, the night proved uneventful, so she struggled to catch up on some paperwork due in just a few days. Unfortunately, earning the promotion to rank of “Captain” meant a lot more dull tasks such as these. Fareeha finished the last report and decided to proof read it tomorrow. She closed her laptop and stood up to grab her leather jacket on the wall.

The phone in her office rang before Fareeha could leave, with news that Saleh and his patrol captured two trespassers near the Talon base. Helix recently assigned her squad to guard a Talon base liberated from the terrorists. The Egyptian government included the base in the security firm's contract due to its proximity to the Temple of Anubis compound. One of her patrols discovered the base around two days ago; a brief firefight broke out between them and the Talon forces. Thankfully, Helix suffered no casualties. 

Talon wasn't so lucky.

They believed the Talon forces wiped out, though they were yet unable to gain access to the interior of the base due to a locking mechanism on the entry to the underground facility. One of her squadmates found a datapad on a dead agent explaining that Talon abandoned the base a few weeks ago but no useful information found on the datapad, of course.

Fareeha found one detail about the base really interesting; it was an ex-Overwatch underground facility. Talon moved in and made it their own, right underneath HSI's nose. She really hated Talon. The terrorists, an ever increasing thorn in her side, grew bolder and attacked more and more assets secured by HSI in recent months. Fareeha guessed it had something to do with Anubis.

Now, this base was also HSI's problem to deal with.

She expected Talon operatives but, according to Saleh's intel, tonight's two trespassers were ex-Overwatch: Torbjörn Lindholm and Dr. Angela Ziegler. Fareeha knew Torbjörn well enough since he was close to her mom years ago. She used to baby-sit a few of his children while on vacation from school (her mom volunteered her for this every year). She really didn't know Dr. Ziegler personally but heard of the woman's many accomplishments providing medical aid to soldiers and civilians alike in the Middle East since Overwatch disbanded. Fareeha saw her maybe a few times during the Overwatch years but Angela acted kind of cold and in a very professional manner towards her. 

Years later, Fareeha ran into Angela again at a bar, shortly after the medical genius officially joined Overwatch. She remembered some chemistry between them but it fell flat quickly when Angela found out Fareeha was her commanding officer's daughter. Fareeha always wondered if Angela's aloofness after that incident arose from embarrassment or if that was just Angela's personality when sober. 

A text message came in from Saleh, informing Fareeha of the order from her superior to release the captives. She still wished to speak with the pair before they left and decided to call Saleh, giving an order to detain them for an hour longer. Fareeha knew it wasn't a coincidence that two ex-Overwatch agents were caught near an old Overwatch facility. She wanted to find the truth.

* * *

Fareeha entered the small outpost and Lieutenant Saleh saluted her and motioned to a door on the side of the main lobby.

“In there. Have fun! They're an odd pair,” he smirked. 

“Thanks,” she heard voices coming through the door as she reached and turned the knob. She pulled the door open and heard the two arguing, though not heatedly.

“Why won't you let me look at it, Torbjörn?”

“It's fine! Just cramps up a bit when I sit for too long.”

“That's not good, you know.”

“Eh, stop your nagging, doc!” 

Fareeha noticed Torbjörn rubbing his right leg.

“I'm not...” Angela stopped mid-sentence when noticing Fareeha standing before their table.

“Am I interrupting?” 

“Hey, kid!” Torbjörn jumped out of his chair and quickly grabbed his leg, “Ouch! No, not interrupting. We were done anyway.” He shot Angela an annoyed look. Fareeha recalled that the stubborn man hated doctors.

“Kid? Try 'Captain Amari'” Fareeha crossed her arms and stood up straighter. 

Torbjörn looked up, “I don't remember you being so tall! Hee hee.” He offered her his human hand and Fareeha knelt down to reach it. After the hand-shake, she finally turned to the other occupant in the room.

“Dr. Ziegler.”

“You can call me Angela,” she rose from her seat and offered Fareeha her hand. The handshake was surprisingly firm. _A professional, doctor hand-shake_ , Fareeha figured. She couldn't help notice details of Angela's appearance; her blonde hair tied back in a messy ponytail, how her lips thinned and spread into a smile that did manage to reach her gorgeous blue eyes. Angela was still very beautiful, not that she expected otherwise.

Fareeha quickly released Angela's hand and sat down at the table, not wanting to get too distracted. Torbjörn and Angela joined her at the table. After taking a seat, Fareeha finally noticed a box with holes cut in the side, sitting on the table near Torbjörn.

“What's in there?” Fareeha asked the man.

“Ganymede,” Torbjörn replied casually. Fareeha raised an eyebrow.

“It's a bird.” Angela clarified for her. “We can explain that later. You wished to speak with us, Captain Amari?” 

“Yes, right to business.” She folded her hands together. “I'll start by saying, I find it curious you two happened to get caught sneaking around an old Overwatch weapons facility.” 

Torbjörn spoke first, “I designed and built the defenses in that base. Very dangerous contraptions you got in there. These past years, I've been traveling the world tryin'a find the more deadly of these I built and prevent them from getting into the wrong hands.” You heard about the Titan in Boklovo?”

“Yes.” Fareeha remembered the story about the huge omnic that almost leveled a city.

“And the bastion, you know about that one your team found with us, right?”

“Go on,” she answered dryly.

“I just saved a town in Sweden from that thing.”

“Why do you have it with you?”

“It's changed from the killer it was made to be. Turns out, the town didn't really need saving from it. Oh, and then there's its little friend, Ganymede...”

“He's the bird in the box,” Angela added wryly.

“Yep, Ganymede. It was too cold to leave him in the ATV.”

“So, you're here to secure the weapons technology in that old Overwatch facility.” Fareeha stated. “Then, why are you here?” she looked pointedly towards Angela.

“I've been nearby in Iraq for a few years now and Torbjörn asked if I could take a few days to accompany him and provide any medical assistance if needed.”

“Dangerous work.” He held up his mechanical arm as evidence.

Fareeha doubted they told her the whole story but would humor them for now. “You know the facility was recently occupied by Talon? You heard of them, right?”

“That's what I feared,” Torbjörn sighed.

“We recently chased them out and the area around the base is now under HSI's protection. We have yet to investigate the base ourselves and would welcome any assistance you could provide. To be honest with you, we can't get into the base. There's some kind of locking mechanism on the door. Since Talon figured out how to get in there somehow, Helix thought we could do it as well without blowing the door off.”

“I designed that. Should be easy for me to get in.”

Fareeha smiled and continued, “That's what I hoped. You would both work for us as a civilian contractor. We benefit from fulfilling our duty in securing the weapons facility. You benefit by further clearing up your conscience. Plus, some monetary compensation for your time.”

“That will work,” Torbjörn looked at Angela who nodded her head silently. 

“Just remember, I'm in charge of this mission. I'll inform my superiors of the change in plans. I doubt they'll have any problems with acquiring your expertise to help us deal with this.” 

“Aye, Captain! Eh...now what?” Torbjörn asked as he scratched his right cheek. Fareeha noticed some of the sand particles stuck in his beard fall onto the table.

“We can meet here early tomorrow to discuss details and take care of all the required paperwork.” Fareeha tried not to roll her eyes. More paperwork. “I would like to proceed with securing the base as soon as possible. Barring any major issues, it should be taken care of within the next few days.” Fareeha stood up from her chair. “I'll be at base tomorrow around...” she stopped in mid-sentence. 

“Before I go, do you two have a place to stay tonight?”

“Sort of...” Angela didn't sound too thrilled about their current living arrangements.

“We were going to stay at an old Overwatch safe-house. It's just a few miles from here,” Torbjörn answered.

“Why don't you just stay at my place tonight. I have an extra room and a working shower.” Fareeha glanced at Torbjörn's beard again. “We can travel back to base together in the morning. Do you have anything you'll need at this safe-house?”

“No,” both Torbjörn and Angela shook their heads. Torbjörn spoke next, “We have supplies in the ATV. Er, speaking of that, what about the bastion?” Should we bring it to your place?” 

Fareeha hesitated for a second. Luckily, she didn't have many neighbors to spot the omnic and ask _questions_. She had her fair share of living with nosy people back in the army. After getting a job with Helix, she mad sure to find a place with some privacy.

“Sure, you can bring it along. Are you going to accept my offer?”

“Yes,” Angela answered immediately. _That old safehouse must be pretty run-down_ , Fareeha thought. 

“Right. Lead the way,” Torbjörn replied; the trio then left the room together.

* * *

They arrived at Fareeha's place less than fifteen minutes after leaving the base. Fareeha drove alone in her car while Angela, Torbjörn, the bastion, and Ganymede (still in the box) followed in the ATV. She opened the door to her apartment and ushered them in. They all entered and set their equipment down on the floor. Torbjörn removed the cloak wrapped around the bastion; he covered it for their trip to conceal it just in case. 

Fareeha offered the two a drink before hurrying over to prepare the guest room. The room only had one small bed but she had a small pullout mattress she could put on the floor. The two of them could fight over who got to sleep where.

Fareeha yawned. She wanted to stay up a little bit longer to talk with her guests. She hoped she could get more out of them but would she just be wasting her time? Probably. They had no reason to trust her. She wasn't her mom; she was with Helix. Did these two know Ana still lived? Fareeha suspected they did.

Fareeha rejoined Angela and Torbjörn in the kitchen area of her apartment. They both sat at the table drinking some water. The bird, Ganymede, perched himself upon the top of the now vacant box. The bastion rested in the living room near the sofa. It looked at some pictures in one of Fareeha's sports magazines.

“Torbjörn, does your bastion friend have a name?” Fareeha asked, still staring at the omnic.

“I've wondered the same,” Angela replied.

“Nope, haven't thought of anything suitable,” Torbjörn shrugged.

“I'll just call it 'Bastion' then.” Fareeha added, “It should have a proper name, right?”

“That'll do, captain.”

“You can call me 'Fareeha' here.”

Torbjörn smiled, “Alright, Fareeha. Oh, my Ida was asking about you just a few months ago. I'll let her know I ran into you.”

Fareeha remembered Ida; one of Torbjörn's children she watched for him and his wife years ago. The girl must have been a young adult by now.

“Tell her I said 'hello'.” 

“She'll like that. I think she misses the piggy-back rides.”

Fareeha laughed, “I think she's a little too big for those now.” She walked over to the kitchen to join them, “I have everything set up for you two in the guest room. Are you two hungry at all?”

“No. I think we're just tired,” Angela replied.

“I could use a shower,” Torbjörn scraped at his beard; a bit of loose sand spilling out onto the table. 

“I'll show you to the bathroom,” Fareeha motioned towards the hallway. Torbjörn jumped down from the kitchen chair and followed her before stopping suddenly.

“Hold on,” he started removing his mechanical claw arm. “Gotta take this off first.”

“Do you need help?” Angela offered.

“Nah.”

Fareeha looked away as Torbjörn quickly removed the prosthetic attached at his shoulder. After removing the arm, he tossed it down on the empty coffee table in Fareeha's living room. It made a loud thunk sound and left a small scratch on the table.

“Oh, sorry.” Torbjörn apologized. Fareeha caught Angela rolling her eyes.

“You're lucky it's not a family heirloom.” Fareeha said dryly but then smiled. 

“I might have something to smooth this up for you,” Torbjörn offered and moved a finger over the table's surface.

“It's fine. I barely use it for coffee table things anyway.” Fareeha pointed down the hall. “Shower.” He followed and she quickly showed him to the bathroom. 

Fareeha returned to the kitchen and sat next to Angela at the table.

“So, now that he's gone. What are you two really doing here? No bullshit this time.”

Angela put the glass of water down on the table, “Excuse me?”

Fareeha chuckled, “I'm not dumb. I've known him,” she nodded her head towards the hallway, “since I was young. I know when he's full of it.”

“Well,” Angela considered her words, “he's not lying about his motives for wanting to gain access to the base...”

“I know, but there's more to it, right?”

“So, you think intimidation will work on me but not him?”

“I don't want to intimidate you, Angela. I just know you'll be honest with me, unlike Torbjörn.”

“You barely know me, Fareeha.”

“My mother's told me enough.”

Angela sighed, “You seem to already know the answer.”

Fareeha smirked, “Well...”

Angela took a sip from the glass and raised an eyebrow, “Well?”

“It's Overwatch, isn't it? I've heard rumors that some agents were active again; two of them spotted fighting Talon at the Overwatch Museum a few weeks ago. And now here you two are...”

“If that were true...” Angela's replied, looking solemn. “...what would you do about it?”

Fareeha sighed, “It's illegal for Helix to get involved in Overwatch activity. Technically, this is a Helix mission and we need to secure this base. Torbjörn's our best chance.” 

“I don't see why there should be a problem then,” Angela sipped her drink again; her expression now hard to read.

A moment of silence fell between the two, “Fine,” Fareeha replied abruptly. 

She felt conflicted. On one hand, they were certainly acting on behalf of a reformed Overwatch, which makes them both criminals. On the other hand, she knew they were good people. She knew they would have a reason for being here. Especially Angela; the woman risked her own life countless times to save the forsaken victims of war. Fareeha admired her, no doubt. Oddly enough, Angela gave some of the most damning testimony against former Overwatch that ultimately led to the Petras Act. Would she really join them again, even after all these years?

More questions than answers, but they'd have to wait for tomorrow.

Fareeha yawned, again. “I should go to bed. I can show you to the room and where you can take a shower.” She stood up and beckoned Angela to follow. She led her down the hallway and pointed out the guest room plus the bathroom with the door closed as Torbjörn was still in there.

Before heading to her own room, Fareeha bid Angela a good night. “I'll be up at the crack of dawn and so will you two. I like to get an early start,” With an impish grin, she entered her room, leaving Angela standing in the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

“Wake up you two!”

Angela heard a voice...somewhere near. 

It was loud. It sounded like a woman's voice. Was she dreaming? 

She heard a groan; then knocking.

“One more time, get up!”

Angela now realized she wasn't dreaming. The woman's voice, Fareeha's. The groan, Torbjörn's. The knocking sound? Not sure, perhaps Fareeha did that? She looked outside the window; still dark...

“So much for the crack of dawn,” Angela mumbled, sitting up from the pullout mattress bed placed on the floor. She insisted Torbjörn take the other bed due to his leg.

“It's close enough,” Fareeha smiled, the woman already dressed in her HSI uniform, ready to start her day. “I'll be in the kitchen, looking for some breakfast. I'm not sure if I have anything to eat...”

Angela reluctantly dragged herself from the bed and decided to hit the bathroom before Torbjörn got up. He remained laying in bed and started snoring again. 

She would let the drill sergeant in the kitchen deal with him.

After getting dressed and washing up, Angela joined Fareeha in the kitchen. She found the other woman looking through one of the cabinets while holding a box of cereal (they looked like Luci-Ohs?). Fareeha scooped out a handful of cereal and popped it all in her mouth. She finished eating the mouthful of cereal before speaking.

“I have some of this but no milk,” Fareeha held up the box of cereal to show Angela before putting it down on the counter. “There's a grocery open early that's nearby. I'm going to grab something for us to eat that's not stale cereal.” She grabbed her keys and a leather jacket that hung near the door. “Just make sure he's up by the time I get back. Oh, there is some coffee I made for you two.” She pointed to a small coffee maker on the counter.

“Thanks,” Angela grabbed a mug on the counter and started pouring herself a cup. “As for Torbjörn, maybe I'll throw some cold water on him. He's not a morning person.”

“You don't seem to be one either.” Fareeha teased, not that Angela minded At least her host was in a better mood this morning and not subjecting her to a mini interrogation.

Angela yawned, “I usually just stay up really really late, so I'm not sure what that makes me.”

“Someone who works too hard?” 

Angela took a sip from her coffee and smiled, “Hmmm...probably.”

“Alright, I'll be back shortly.” Fareeha returned the smile and left apartment.

Angela hoped Fareeha didn't catch the faint blush on her cheeks. No matter how tired she felt, Fareeha's smile affected her in ways she wish it hadn't. She always found the other woman very attractive. Was it her tall, lean, yet muscular frame? Amazing strong jawline? Those large, gorgeous deep brown eyes she could get lost in? All of the above and more? Angela only saw Fareeha around five times in the last ten years or so since she had joined Overwatch. In spite of her attraction to the woman (or because of it), she played it cool and distant in her presence, not counting the dreaded “drunken night” where she didn't recognize Fareeha as Ana's daughter and flirted with the poor woman excessively.

Hopefully she didn't remember it.

Over these years, the knowledge that Fareeha was Ana's daughter acted like a kind of shock collar to suppress these feelings. Strange to think of it that way, but it worked for her. The attraction though, definitely still there. Since she saw her last, nothing changed much with Fareeha's appearance except the new tattoo below her right eye, which only drew Angela's attention further towards her eyes. _Not helping_.

Angela shook her head, attempting to clear out the thoughts of Fareeha taking hold in her mind. She needed to wake Torbjörn. She stood up from her chair, walked past Bastion still resting in the living room, and headed towards the sound of snoring. Before reaching the guest room, she spotted the door to Fareeha's room open to her left side. She couldn't help but peek in when she noticed something gold glinting from the morning sun that starting to sneak in through the window.

Against the far wall, stood a sort of glass case filled with trophies of various shapes and sizes. Angela remembered Fareeha played a sport in college before joining the military. Basketball, maybe? Yes, some of the trophies had little basketball people on top. On the wall above the trophies hung what looked like a hockey jersey set in a frame of some player named “Demers” with a number “28”. Someone scribbled their signature on it. _Probably this Demers person_ , Angela deduced.

Curiosity pushed her on as she took a few more steps into the room. On the left side of the room near the trophy case, sat a wooden dresser with a beautiful gold trimmed mirror atop. On top of it, stood some kind of small action figure posed with a gun. 

_Really_? Angela snickered to herself.

The dresser also held two framed pictures of an older man. Fareeha was with him in one of them. Angela could easily see the resemblance between them. Her father, most likely. Ana probably showed her a picture of the man a long time ago but she didn't remember exactly what he looked like.

Further a long the wall, stood another shelf with a few more pictures. The people in these photos (plus one omnic) wore HSI uniforms. Beside these sat a small memorial plaque with a few names etched on the surface. Sadly, these names were likely for the people in the photos, killed in action.

Angela looked over all the picture frames again. Not one had a picture of Ana. 

The sniper mentioned that Fareeha knew she was alive but where did their relationship go from there? Ana, uncharacteristically, hardly spoke about Fareeha since returning to Overwatch. She assumed the mother and daughter weren't on good terms. 

Angela knew she shouldn't even be looking through Fareeha's room. She suddenly felt ashamed and turned to go. One more picture on the night stand by the bed caught her attention before she could leave. This one...Angela recognized after staring at it a few moments. A younger Ana was in the photo alongside Gabriel, Jack, Reinhardt and some other former Overwatch agents. Fareeha stood before Ana; the mother's hands resting on her daughter's shoulders. 

Angela spotted Torbjörn with a much younger version of herself next to Jesse.

_Wearing a cowboy hat, as usual_. She couldn't remember a day she ever saw the man without that hat. Jesse McCree answered Winston's recall and arrived at the Gibraltar base before Angela.

He still wore the hat, even at thirty seven years old.

Now Angela remembered; this photo of her with the Overwatch team was taken during a weekend university trip to their headquarters in Switzerland. As one of the top students in her class, they permitted her to meet with a few of the big names in the organization. Overwatch always kept an eye out for young talent. Most of them were eager to spend more time with her, answering questions. Ana in particular seemed interested in Angela's academic career.

More memories from that day came rushing back. A young Fareeha suddenly barged into Ana's office as they all looked at the camera. Red-faced and out of breath, she insisted they let her join the picture with her mom and Gabe and the others. Angela remembered Gérard Lacroix was the one behind the camera. At that time, he was a newer agent along with Jesse, though a bit older than the cowboy. 

Gérard laughed and waved for the girl to join her mother. No one had an issue with the latest addition to the group except for one. Torbjörn snarked something at the young girl as she took her place. Fareeha frowned at him but remained standing in front of her mother, determined to take that picture no matter what. Angela then remembered how she placed two of her fingers behind the head of the grumpy asshole in an attempt to cheer up the younger girl...and then the picture was taken just like that, those bunny ears immortalized forever. 

Maybe that's why Torbjörn gives her such a hard time to this day... 

Later on that day, Angela found out Fareeha broke one of Torbjörn favorite tools while she watched him fixing a turret in his workshop. That happened sometime before the picture, which explained why he was a bit cross with the young girl.

Angela still didn't regret the bunny ears.

A loud snore emitting from the room across the hall brought Angela back to present day.

_Torbjörn, right, have to wake him up_.

She managed to get the man out of bed with some resistance; no threat of cold water required.

Angela returned to the living room to discover Bastion up and moving around. It seemed interested in watching the sunrise through the large sliding glass doors leading out onto a balcony outside the apartment. The omnic possessed a child-like curiosity she found endearing. She still knew first hand how deadly these particular omnics could be; one of them killed her parents years ago.

Torbjörn was right, though. This one was different. Perhaps none of them ever desired conflict but felt it necessary. Angela could relate to that. She sat on the sofa and watched the sunrise along with Bastion.

* * *

Torbjörn eventually made his way to the living area. Angela poured a cup of coffee for him as he still struggled to wake up. The front door opened and Fareeha popped in, carrying a few paper bags.

“Ah, you managed to wake him before I returned. Good work.”

“He made it difficult but I managed.” Angela took a sip of coffee while Torbjörn grunted something unintelligible.

Fareeha prepared a quick breakfast for them; eggs with a warm flat bread. She heated some pre-cooked mashed fava beans as well. The trio ate quickly while holding mundane conversations such as discussing the weather. After breakfast, they grabbed their equipment and left the apartment. 

Fareeha jumped in her car first and backed out of the garage. Angela joined Torbjörn and Bastion in the ATV. 

When they arrived at base, Mr. Aarim Sayed greeted them all and motioned them into a small meeting room. Torbjörn quickly brightened up when he caught sight of his long-time friend. They spoke briefly about the latest design for the Raptora combat suit until everyone settled into a chair at the large table in the center of the room.

Mr. Sayed briefed everyone on the situation once more then iterated over the important points of the mission. Torbjörn's role would be shutting down the defense systems in the base and neutralizing any threats caused by weapon tech inside. At first, Mr. Sayed doubted they needed Angela for the mission, as Helix has their own medics, but Torbjörn convinced him. He explained how much he trusted her abilities and that they worked well together in the past. Mr. Sayed agreed.

As for Fareeha and her team, they would provide heavy firepower if needed and act as chaperons. After Torbjörn and Angela helped secure the base, their part in the mission was over. The UN owned the technology in the base and they would eventually send in a team to recover it. 

Angela didn't like that part. Not one bit. 

She needed time search for and download Talon's research data, but with HSI and now UN involvement, when would she get a chance?

Mr. Sayed got to the part where they discussed monetary compensation for their efforts. Angela didn't care whether they paid her or not. She just wanted that data but knew the UN would claim ownership over it. She couldn't even mention any of this in the bargaining. HSI still thinks the base holds some type of weapons stockpile when it's really a medical research facility. Not to mention, their intel comes from Ana Amari, a wanted bounty hunter in Egypt and the estranged mother of the HSI captain in charge of the mission. Angela had no options but to go along and hope an opportunity presented itself to get the data. 

Apparently, Torbjörn wanted to renegotiate his payment as well.

“I don't need ya' to pay me for this. But could you let me pilot one of the Raptora suits? Just for a short time? Do you have any smaller ones you could adjust so it'll fit me?”

Mr. Sayed laughed, “We'll see what we can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a shorter chapter. So I uploaded it today as well.
> 
> Will probably update this at least once a week.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of strong language and tw: suicide mention.

Mr. Sayed wanted them to head out for the base as soon as possible. Fareeha couldn't be happier as she just wanted this situation handled and off her plate. Her discomfort in working with possible criminals only made her more eager to get this over with. 

Since Fareeha would be in charge of the mission, she held the responsibility of determining when the base was secure enough for the Egyptian/UN research team. She hoped Torbjörn would comply when she ordered a withdrawal from the base, but separating the inventor from his old toys might prove difficult.

The group left for the base a few hours after the briefing. From Fareeha's squad, Saleh and Hameer joined them, all outfitted in their Raptora armor. The guards posted at the wall leading to the area allowed them to pass without question, though they did eye Bastion suspiciously. 

The small team climbed into a large Helix carrier vehicle and drove out to the old Overwatch base; a short trip since the base was around a mile away from the outpost. They exited the vehicle and allowed Torbjörn some time to set up sensor equipment. Angela watched him work, looking a bit agitated. 

_She looks nervous. She wants this mission over with as much as I do, perhaps_ , Fareeha thought, watching the doctor fidget with a metal part near the top of her healing staff. 

Saleh muffled a yawn and Fareeha shot him a nasty look. He surely had a late night going out with his new girlfriend, who was currently on a week long vacation from university. Fareeha knew how unhappy he was that he couldn't take today off. The mission came first and he had the remainder of the week off after today to spend with the new girlfriend anyway. She expected he would have done the responsible thing and got proper rest last night but apparently he and his girlfriend had other ideas. Well, she can give him hell for it later.

Fareeha spotted Bastion bent over picking up some sand in his hand. It studied the sand for a moment before letting it slide out of its hand, making a short, disappointed _boop bweeep_ sound. 

_So, it doesn't like sand. Interesting_.

Torbjörn finally gave the signal that everything was in the clear and the group approached the door to the base. Fareeha watched with the others as he started fiddling with the locking mechanism. The lock was mechanical and housed inside a panel. Helix found the panel closed and password protected; their hackers managed to get past that at least. Getting past the mechanism eluded them, however.

It didn't take Torbjörn long to figure out the mechanism since he was the one who built it years ago. As he opened the door, Fareeha's grip on her rocket launcher tightened.

“Ah, there we go!” Torbjörn exclaimed triumphantly. Now to the task of investigating. Torbjörn grabbed a battery powered lantern that surprisingly provided a decent light source as they all descended into the base. They walked single-file down a set of stairs in a narrow passage that eventually led to a large, circular staging room. Torbjörn must have found the light switch since bright light flooded the room. 

Fareeha counted five doors leading to other areas of the facility. The room itself was basically empty.

“Do you remember anything about the layout of this base?” Fareeha asked Torbjörn who looked confused.

“I think the main lab is through that door. The rest would lead to dormitories and storage areas If I'm rememberin'” 

“We'll try that one first.” Fareeha opened the door to the main lab and entered a long hallway. It started out narrow but widened the further they proceeded. At the end of the hall were large glass windows and a door leading into a dimly lit room that did look like a scientific research laboratory to her. Nearing the room, Fareeha could now make out some details of its contents. She saw lab benches with vials full of bluish or greenish liquid resting on top, Near the tables, sat computer monitors which were near some equipment that looked straight out of a mad scientist's laboratory from an old horror movie. 

It looked more like a science lab than a weapons lab. Odd.

Fareeha started to open the door but halted when a gross, chemically smell hit her nostrils.

“Ugh.”

Angela quickly approached Fareeha and placed her hand near the right shoulder-guard of her armor.

“Are you okay?”

Fareeha shook her head, trying to clear the smell out of her nostrils. It didn't work. She could even taste the smell. So gross...

“I'm okay, but my nose might fall off.” Fareeha pinched the bridge on her nose. “I would be okay with that under these circumstances, though.”

“I think we need to get you back in one piece, with nose intact,” Angela reached in the small supply bag she carried and pulled out a few safety masks.

Fareeha pointed towards her nose, “Doctor _nose_ best, right?”

Angela rolled her eyes but smiled, “Here, wear one of these,” she handed Fareeha the mask. She took off her helmet and pulled the mask down over her head so it covered her nose and face; the gold beads in her hair now rested over the side of the mask. Her hair felt a little sweaty already. 

She worried she probably had weird looking helmet-head too, _Ugh, I'm going to need another shower after this_. 

Angela started to hand a mask to Saleh and Hameer when Fareeha reached for her arm to stop her.

“They won't need one. You two will stand guard outside while we investigate. Understood?”

They both saluted their captain and took a position near the door.

Angela and Torbjörn both equipped their mask; Bastion didn't need one, of course. The four entered the lab with Fareeha leading the way. She was impressed that the flimsy looking mask did its job at keeping the disgusting chemical smell out of her nostrils. She wouldn't doubt that Angela invented these herself.

“It looks like Talon set up a medical research lab in this old facility,” Angela stated as she walked towards the center of the large lab room. “The only weapons we'll find here are biological ones, which is worse than what we were expecting.”

Torbjörn gave Angela a knowing look, “This is beyond my expertise.” Fareeha wondered what went unsaid between them. Were they expecting this?

Fareeha's eyes searched the lab some more. She discovered jars of what appeared to be organs. Human? Ugh, probably. This lab was really gruesome.

“That looks like a liver. Human.” Angela must have read her mind.

“Look over here,” Torbjörn called out and pointed towards a large tank that was full of a clear liquid. A human body floated in the center. The person in the tank had tubes coming out of...well, every place a tube could come out of a body, Fareeha supposed. The tubes attached to more electronic equipment sitting near the tank.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse...

“ _Scheiße_ ,” Angela cried out and rushed over to the monitoring equipment. She turned some of the knobs a few times.

“No vital signs.” Angela turned her back to them and walked over towards a sink on the adjacent wall. She slammed her fist down on a metal counter near the sink. Fareeha and Torbjörn jumped at the sudden noise while Bastion seemed unfazed and continued looking at the person in the tank.

“Fuck them,” Angela's voice suddenly rose angrily. She turned quickly and moved towards Fareeha. “Did you know Talon stole a lot of my own medical research from Overwatch? When they disbanded Overwatch, the UN didn't do a damn thing to prevent Talon from getting their hands on it and now this is what they're doing with it. I told them countless times...” 

Even though the mask slightly muffled Angela's voice, her words were loud and clear. Fareeha didn't know how to respond. She's never heard Angela this upset and nearly shouting.

“I'm sorry, I didn't know,” Fareeha replied weakly. It felt lame.

Angela sighed and her shoulders drooped.

“Now what?” Angela composed herself quickly but was still definitely upset.

“We'll investigate the rest of the facility. Helix expected Talon was only hiding old Overwatch weapons tech down here. My superiors will have to decide what to do with this.” 

“How long will that take?”

Fareeha shrugged, “Knowing them, a few days? Weeks? Then the UN gets involved since it was Overwatch...”

“I want to assist them in further exploring this place. I'm interested in any research data Talon probably has on these computers.”

“That will be up to them.”

Angela pursed her lips together. “Right. Let's investigate the rest of this place then,” she huffed. 

They left the laboratory and joined Saleh and Hameer still standing outside.

“We're going to explore the other rooms. Just wait here and inform me if you spot anything suspicious.”

“Yes, Captain.” They both saluted.

* * *

Torbjörn was right. The rest of the compound consisted of storage space or living quarters. They didn't find a living soul in any of the barracks but did find a few dead bodies. Fareeha knelt down to examine one of them.

“Looks like Talon. Scientists. Do you know how they died?” she looked up towards Angela for an answer.

Angela looked over the body more thoroughly. 

“No signs of violence. They probably ingested a poison tablet to avoid being taken alive during your skirmish. I'm surprised they didn't destroy the lab or their equipment.”

Fareeha thought it grim that these people would take their own lives instead turning themselves over to the authorities. How did Talon breed such loyalty?

“I'll call into base and notify them of the bodies that need an evac.” Fareeha left the room and contacted the Helix outpost. They patched her over to Mr. Sayed.

“Pharah reporting in.”

“That didn't take long. Is the base secured?”

“Yes, but it's not what we were expecting.”

Fareeha explained everything to her superior. He ordered the team to return to the Helix base as soon as possible. He would later send another team to collect the dead bodies. Fareeha gathered everyone and ordered them to follow her to the circular entry room. Angela hesitated at first, looking towards the laboratory room, but still followed.

When they all entered the base entry room, Fareeha stopped before the stairs and turned to address them. 

“We're heading back to base. Our job is finished here.” Saleh and Hameer looked at each other and smiled. 

Angela didn't look as happy. “Captain, may I speak with you in private before we leave?” She motioned her head towards the opposite side of the room.

“Yes, but we're expected back at base soon.”

Fareeha followed Angela until they were out of earshot. 

“I need to download a copy of the research data in this lab. I shouldn't need to explain to you why I might want it.”

“That's not my decision, Angela. I sympathize but ultimately the UN will determine what to do with it.” 

“Do they need to know if...”

“No. We're not doing that. Our mission is over and you two are already under enough suspicion. We're leaving now,” Fareeha stated firmly.

Angela sighed with disappointment showing on her face, then turned and walked away from Fareeha.

Fareeha stood like a statue for a few seconds before she also joined them. A large part of her did want to help Angela and hated seeing her upset with her. Of course, Angela would be the best person to study the horrific experiments Talon performed here. They were using her research, after all. Unfortunately, if Fareeha allowed Angela or Torbjörn to take anything from the facility, even data, it would be her ass on the line. Her primary orders from Sayed and her direct superior, Nassar, were to keep an eye on those two the entire duration of the mission. Nassar already didn't like Fareeha much; too 'idealistic' for his tastes. He was an ass but she didn't need to get on his bad side.

They left the abandoned lab and returned to the Helix base. Before they had arrived, Sayed spoke with his contact in the Egyptian government and the UN. They ordered Helix to continue guarding the old Overwatch facility until further notice.

Mr. Sayed also absolved Fareeha and her squad of their duty for the remainder of the day. For Saleh, this means his vacation began a little earlier. 

He shot his hand in the air when Sayed left the room.

“Ha, yes! I don't know about you two, but I'm getting out of here before he changes his mind. Captain, you watching the game tonight?”

Fareeha almost forgot about game seven of the Stanley Cup semi-final match. Her team, the Vancouver Canucks, just needed to win tonight to make it to the finals. Unfortunately for her, the game wasn't on until around three in the morning local time. This just meant she'd have to grab a quick nap so she could stay up

“I wouldn't miss it.”

“Have fun. I know I will,” he winked and left the room. Hameer also said her goodbyes and left shortly after Saleh. 

Fareeha looked towards Angela and Torbjörn, “Are you two leaving soon?”

“We're going to stay a few more days. Sayed still has that promise to keep about letting me pilot a Raptora suit. Angela's waiting to speak with someone from the UN about that data.”

“I doubt they'll listen but it's worth a try, “ Angela didn't sound hopeful. Fareeha hated that she couldn't help her out. 

“Do you two still need a place to stay?”

“Sayed got us a hotel for a few days,” Torbjörn replied. “We'll follow you back to your apartment and pick up our belongings.”

Fareeha remembered they left Ganymede back in her apartment's spare room. She desperately hoped the bird didn't crap everywhere.

“I'm heading home now so you can follow me there.”

* * *

After Angela and Torbjörn left her apartment, Fareeha laid down on her bed, attempting to take a nap, but had trouble falling asleep. She still felt guilty over Angela. She wanted to tell herself that she did the right thing but doubts plagued her mind. Angela could get the most out of Talon's research but Fareeha was now pretty sure those two were acting on behalf of a newly formed Overwatch; illegally acting as a group of vigilantes.

Then Fareeha remembered the horrors found in the lab. Then, her mind went back to feeling guilty over denying Angela the data.

This thought train repeated itself countless times before Fareeha finally dosed off. She slept for a few hours before a sound from the laptop in her room woke her. Someone wanted to start a chat message with her.

She slowly crawled out of bed and walked over to the source of the noise sitting on the dresser next to a picture of her dad. She grabbed the laptop, and made a mental note that she'd need to call him sometime after tonight's game.

Fareeha returned to the bed with the laptop and popped the lid open. She clicked on the message notification:

**JyXfb34535** : _The night has ended and the sun has risen and the bird sang saw saw_. 

She didn't recognize the gibberish user name but that phrase...she remembered it from a song her mother used to sing for her years ago.

**the-rocket-queen** : Who is this?

Fareeha knew the answer but still asked it anyway.

**JyXfb34535** : U know who this is.

Fareeha sighed. This was just like her.

**the-rocket-queen** : What do you want, mother?

Ana tried contacting Fareeha in a similar manner a few times before, always with some weird username and a phrase she'd recognize as something her mother would know. Fareeha usually just ignored her and deleted the message. She couldn't do that this time. Ana contacting her while Angela and Torbjörn were here in Egypt; no coincidence.

**JyXfb34535** : I know you like blunt so I'll be blunt. You need to help Angela get that data.

**the-rocket-queen** : No.

_Blunt, huh? I'll give her blunt_.

**JyXfb34535** : No? What do you think the UN is going to do with it? It will sit on a server, ignored and forgotten. 

**the-rocket-queen** : It's their data. Angela can still go through the proper channels to get a copy of it instead of asking me to help her steal it.

**JyXfb34535** : That takes forever and your username is ridiculous btw. You don't have to help her steal anything. Just let her into the lab for an hour or so. She's telling me you're in charge of guarding it for a few days. 

**the-rocket-queen** : …

**JyXfb34535** : I take that as a 'yes' then?

**the-rocket-queen** : No, why should I risk my career to help a bunch of criminals in violation of the Petras Act? I know Overwatch agents are active again and you stopped playing bounty hunter and joined them, right?

**JyXfb34535** : I wonder where you got that smart mouth. 

**the-rocket-queen** : Not from dad.

**JyXfb34535** : Well, to answer your question. These 'criminals' are trying to do something about Talon while the UN and other gov't suits sit on their asses. You saw in the lab what they're capable of, habibti. 

**JyXfb34535** : Oh, and Overwatch is still your family. Like it or not. Do I need to get Jesse after you next?

**the-rocket-queen** : I agree with you and Angela about Talon but I have my duty to Helix.

**JyXfb34535** : Helix? Right, they only care about shoving their pockets full of more money.

Fareeha knew her mother was right. She hated admitting it.

**the-rocket-queen** : Okay, I'll think of something.

 

Fareeha closed the chat channel before Ana had a chance to gloat or make a smart ass comment. It's what she expected of her mother. She pulled out her phone and started typing a message to Angela.

**Fareeha** : You had to go and bring my mother into this? That's low, doc.

After a few minutes, Fareeha felt her phone vibrate from a new message.

**A. Ziegler** : I was wondering when she'd get through to you. She said you typically ignore her.

**Fareeha** : You knew she could win me over with emotional blackmail, right? 

**A. Ziegler** : I can be ruthless when needed.

**A. Ziegler** : I'm rlly sorry all the same.

**Fareeha** : I agreed. I'll contact you tomorrow w/ details.

**A. Ziegler** : ty Fareeha!

 

Fareeha didn't plan on replying and placed the phone down on the dresser next to the picture with her mom and a few other Overwatch members, including Angela, Torbjörn, Jesse...

She sighed and laid down in her bed, staring at the ceiling. How many more decisions like this would she have to make, now that Overwatch was active again?

Fareeha couldn't let herself get torn apart by divided loyalties.

Like it or not, Overwatch was her family; even her mom, no matter how cold their current relationship. With Helix, while a bunch of uncaring rich assholes did run that company, she still had a duty to protect her squad, who were also her family. She can't protect them if Helix discharged her; or worse, she ended up in prison. 

Fareeha rolled over and tried to fall asleep again. She eventually drifted off before her alarm woke her in time for the hockey game.


	5. Chapter 5

Fareeha agreed to meet with Angela the next day in her hotel room. They needed to come up with a plan to help Angela get the data from the abandoned Talon research lab; not _entirely_ difficult since Fareeha was currently in charge of the team guarding the base entry. Her shift at Helix didn't start until later on that day so they had a few hours to go over everything. Fareeha definitely wanted this taken care of tonight. She didn't appreciate the “shove” from her mother but in the end she couldn't argue against her or Angela. Going against orders was a rarity for Fareeha, but she knew blind loyalty to any organization, especially a large corporation such as Helix, wasn't always the best answer. 

Torbjörn wouldn't be joining them today. Apparently, he ended up staying in an extra bunk room at the Helix base, declining Sayed's offer for a hotel room. On one hand, he said he wanted to keep Bastion company; the omnic had to stay at the Helix base since the hotel staff likely wouldn't welcome it walking around out in the open among other guests. On the other hand, he mentioned a few 'bad experiences' staying at hotels in the past. Fareeha didn't ask for specific details but imagined these hotels stays ended with a huge repair bill charged to Torbjörn's account.

Fareeha finally neared Angela's room and quickly looked over reflection in a nearby window. She wore light brown colored khakis, a pair of sandals, and a dark blue t-shirt with a Vancouver Canucks logo, in order to celebrate their recent victory in the semi-finals. 

Fareeha knocked on the door to the room, with Angela answering before she got a chance to knock a second time. They greeted each other while Fareeha mentally registered the other woman's appearance; Angela wore a simple light blue pull-over sweater with a pair of jeans and white sneakers. She looked stunning as usual, Fareeha thought, eyeing the woman standing in front of her. Joking with herself, she wondered if she agreed to help today because she found Angela attractive?

_It might be funny to tell mum that. See how she reacts._

Fareeha felt a smirk form on her mouth and realized she likely looked like an idiot when Angela called her name.

“Fareeha?” Angela smiled. “I worry you didn't get enough sleep last night because of that hockey game.”

“Nothing to worry about. I took a nap before. I feel fine.” She lied. She didn't get to nap that long due to the surprise conversation with her estranged mother, but better than nothing, right? Fareeha remembered her irritation with Saleh the previous day due to him not getting enough sleep before their important mission. This probably made her a huge hypocrite today for doing the same but she had a better excuse than his “Oh, I was getting laid.”

Maybe. 

“Hey, I was worried about a bunch of shit I have no control over anyway.”

“I was watching the hockey game all alone and didn't even get drunk.” 

Her excuses? Okay, they didn't seem better when she thought about them like that.

Whatever, at least the Canucks won.

Angela offered Fareeha a cup of coffee before they sat down at a small round table near the kitchen area of the room. She was nosy about what type of hotel room Sayed got for her and glanced around; typical Egyptian style furniture and decorations but definitely an upscale place. The room had all the major amenities needed for an extended stay and probably a high price-tag for one night. Mr. Sayed liked to show off and Helix possessed the wealth, of course. Seemed like a waste to Fareeha.

“Really fancy place they got for you here.”

“No kidding,” Angela's eyes followed Fareeha's in exploring the room. “I'm not used to staying in these kind of places. I wanted someplace less expensive but Mr. Sayed insisted. I'm used to sleeping on tiny cots in medical tents or vans. This is excessive.” 

“You two can still stay at my place if you'd like,” Fareeha offered, turning her attention back to Angela. 

“I'm hoping to leave tomorrow and I don't want to impose anymore than I have,” Angela sighed. “I'm sorry you have to get involved with this. We knew Talon had the base but didn't expect Helix's involvement. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Take out a small Talon team guarding the base. Then, download the data and leave.”

“At least we took care of the Talon guards for you,” Fareeha smiled proudly. Her team easily kicked ass that night. It always felt good sticking it to them, considering the type of shit they do to innocent people. Hopefully helping Angela today will prevent some of that in the future.

“I'm not complaining. Well, not about that. Your government and the UN stepping in to claim ownership of the base...”

“Well, that's why we're here now,” Fareeha looked at Angela earnestly. “I know you want to stop Talon from hurting people. I imagine that's a big focus for you and other Overwatch agents. They've been a pain in our ass for awhile now. I don't think our government or any others are taking them seriously enough. They could even be paying off high ranking authorities for all we know.”

“You're right and you can trust us. We all want to stop Talon.”

“And that's why I agreed to help. I still really hate the thought of this but it's necessary. Who all joined up with you again, by the way?' 

“Well, so far, Torbjörn and I...Jesse, Reinhardt. I believe Lena and Winston have been active for the longest. There's a few others you probably don't remember. Some agents received the recall but have yet to responded. There's your mother, of course, though she wants nothing to do with leadership this time.” 

“I haven't talked to Reinhardt or Jesse in ages. I miss those guys.”

“Maybe I'll convince them to visit you when things settle down.”

“I might visit you all if Helix catches us tonight and tosses me out.” Fareeha smiled. “You think Overwatch would take me in?”

“Hmmm...I could put in a good word. But you'd have to work with your mother and not be at each others throats.”

“On second thought,maybe not,” Fareeha chuckled.

“Have you even seen her since she...”

“No. Let's just leave it at that.” Fareeha's face fell. While she could make light of some aspects of her troubled relationship with Ana, she wasn't ready to delve into the messier emotions involving her mom....or discussing them with others.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Shall we go over the plan for tonight?”

“Gladly.”

Angela smiled at her and Fareeha found some comfort in that.

* * *

After Fareeha left the hotel, Angela performed a few diagnostic tests on her Valkyrie suit, even though she doubted the suit's special abilities would be necessary for tonight's mission.

_Not a very exciting mission_ , she thought. Fareeha would pick her up in a few hours and drive them to the Helix base. From there, they would proceed to the Talon base. Fareeha convinced her superiors to allow her to escort Angela to the lab so the doctor could identify any potential safety hazards that may cause an issue before the UN team arrived. The lab housed a variety of chemicals and medical equipment and Angela worked in enough research labs to recognize potential safety risks.

Angela did agree it was a good idea to give the lab a brief inspection to ensure safety and would hold her end of the bargain. She could do that while downloading files from Talon computer's, of course. Fareeha would accompany her to the lab and stand guard outside, “oblivious” to Angela grabbing the data. She'd get what she needed and they'd exit the base. Later, she'd catch up with Torbjörn and Bastion and they all leave for Gibraltar after he's finished playing around with the Raptora suit; hopefully, by the end of tomorrow.

At Helix, no one is the wiser...except Fareeha. 

Angela still felt guilty about her. But, this is necessary and she seems to understand that.

After taking a shower, Angela dried herself with a huge towel that probably cost more than all the clothing she brought for this trip put together. Fortunately, she brought enough outfits for a few extra days. She threw on a pair of tight blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a small hole in the right sleeve. She didn't pack her best clothes for this trip; not that she owned anything too fancy.

As Angela finished placing her Valkyrie suit in a large travel case, she heard a knock on the door that signaled Fareeha's arrival. The HSI captain looked striking dressed in her beige colored uniform, complete with beret. Angela now couldn't help see the resemblance between Fareeha and a younger Ana. She still thought Fareeha generally took after her father more (assuming he was the man in the photo on her dresser) with her height and most of her facial features, even though you could still easily pick out Ana in them. 

“Looks like you're ready to go,” Fareeha stated, her eyes moving over the case packed with Angela's armor.

Angela nodded, “I'm ready.”

“Good, let's get this over with.”

The two jumped in Fareeha's car and traveled in silence for a few minutes before Angela started to worry.

“I feel like you're still upset with me. Are you having second thoughts?” Fareeha seemed different from earlier that day. Was it something Angela said? She did ask about her mother, after all. Or, was this just the woman's “serious work face”? 

“I'm not,” Fareeha's answer was short, her expression still flat and impossible to read.

“Okay, will you please let me know if that changes?”

“I gave you my word. It won't change.”

Angela remembered the times Ana used to complain about her daughter. Back in the old Overwatch days, Ana talked about Fareeha any time she could and to anyone who would listen, as would any proud parent. Sometimes Ana worried about Fareeha “clamming up” when upset or having issues in her life; it drove her nuts when her daughter wouldn't open up to her. That's just how Fareeha dealt with things; alone and too stubborn or proud to ask for help.

Angela knew Fareeha wouldn't open up about her feelings, so she dropped the conversation. 

Fareeha turned the volume on the radio up after a half minute of more silence. Angela didn't recognize the song but it was loud. Some type of rock music? She organized some of her notes stored on her datapad until they arrived at base.

* * *

The pair suited up at the Helix base and met outside the back exit which faced the Talon facility. Fareeha's blue Raptora suit glowed softly in the moonlight.

“I have an idea,” she pointed towards the wing's on Angela's Valkyrie suit. “You can fly in that, correct?”

“Yes. I require another person to target, though.”

“You'll have to explain to me how that works someday. For now, it would be quicker if I flew us out and you followed along. I can 'cool my jets' so you can keep up. Sound good?”

“Sure, lead the way.” Fareeha shot in the air about ten meters and motioned with her right hand for Angela to follow. Angela activated the wings on her suit and set Fareeha as the target, controlling all of this with a neural implant. She quickly shot in the air towards the blue glint of armor, instinctively grabbing the outstretched gloved hand. Fareeha held on and smiled under her helmet as both slowly glided forward.

“I'll move forward in the air like that each time and you'll follow. Ready?”

“Ready.” 

Fareeha let go of her hand and shot forward again. She made sure her suit thrusters pointed away from Angela when taking off each time.

Angela never experienced flying in her suit like this before. She typically used the Valkyrie suit's flying mechanism to reach an injured person on higher ground but these were short flights. She felt so _free_ flying alongside Fareeha. The rush was exhilarating.

Too bad it ended so soon. 

One of Fareeha's squad patrolled the outside of the Talon base's entry and the two touched down near her location. The guard saluted her captain and opened the locking mechanism leading into the base.

“Captain Pharah,” she addressed her superior by call-sign.

“I'll take over from here. Dismissed.”

The guard nodded and took off in her own Raptora suit. 

Fareeha and Angela entered the now well lit stairway leading to the depths of the base, with Angela following behind the captain. 

“I've been down here a few times since yesterday,” Fareeha called back to her. “I didn't go near that lab though.”

“I don't blame you. I can only imagine what sort of experiments Talon performed in there.”

“You'll know for sure soon enough.”

Angela sighed, “Yes, unfortunately. I know I've been a pain with you about getting into this lab but I'm not doing this for my own morbid curiosity.”

“I know,” Fareeha tried to give her a reassuring smile.

When they reached the door to the research lab, Fareeha stopped and took position near the entrance. She stood at attention and placed her rocket launcher over her right breast plate.

“Do what you came for, Dr. Ziegler. I'll stand guard.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate this, Far...Captain.” They were now on duty. Time to be formal. 

Angela placed a safety masks over her face. She made a mental note to look out for the chemical spill that caused the nasty smell in the lab. It's possible she could clean it up herself if not too dangerous. The lab appeared mostly unchanged from yesterday. Someone removed the dead body floating in the tank full of liquid. The jars full of organs went untouched. Angela carefully inspected one of them with a liver inside. It looked like Talon scientists were actually growing them in this lab. These organs weren't forcibly removed from some poor soul at least.

For the most part, this place looked like your typical science research lab; chemicals and simple equipment such as beakers, test tubes, and measuring equipment filled the shelves and lab benches. On closer inspection, some of these items looked like torture devices; tables with leather straps meant to hold a human being stationary. There were probes attached to the tables with metal instruments that could administer electrical shock. 

Angela found a large refrigerator labeled “Nano-machines” and opened the door. It held a slew of containers varying in shape and filled with liquids. Some were clear while others had a bluish tint. She was certain Talon created these solutions using her own technology. 

What did they do, though? She was tempted to grab a few vials but she didn't bring a cooler to transport them in. The research notes and data would provide answers, either way. 

Angela turned on a nearby computer terminal and established a link between it and her datapad. Before she left Gibraltar, Athena uploaded software on it to help her hack into Talon's computer network at the base. Thankfully, it worked after only a few minutes and Angela started shifting through the files that seemed relevant. She desperately wanted to peek in a few reports but she knew her time was limited. 

Angela continued to work, while also looking over the lab for any potential hazards, until confident she scoured through all the computers and datapads. Before leaving, she grabbed a few notebooks laying on top of one lab bench. It seems someone here liked to record notes the old fashioned way. She exited the lab and placed the notebooks in her supply bag, along with her safety mask. 

“Is everything in order, Dr. Ziegler?”

“Yes. It should be safe” Angela remembered she never found the source of the chemical smell but it shouldn't be a problem if the UN team takes the same precautions. “We can leave now.”

“Great. I really hate this place.”

The cool night air greeted them as they exited the underground facility. 

“You want to jet back?” Fareeha asked.

“Of course, do you really need to ask?” Angela smiled, readying the wings on her suit. 

Fareeha chuckled and shot into the air. She performed a tricky looking aerobatic turning maneuver at the top of her flight path. 

_She's showing off_ , Angela mused.

Angela followed her in the air, trying to act unimpressed by the display.

* * *

Back at Helix base, Angela removed her Valkyrie armor and replaced it with the t-shirt and jeans combo she wore earlier. She decided to pay Torbjörn and Bastion a visit before leaving for the hotel. Fareeha offered to drive her back after their mission but she lost track of the woman shortly after they returned to base.

Angela entered Torbjörn's room to find the man hunched over a piece of armor; likely part of a Raptora suit. Bastion stood nearby with Ganymede on its shoulder.

“Torbjörn?” The man jumped at the sound of his name and turned around.

“Don't be scaring me like that.”

“Sorry. I have good news. I got what we came for. We can leave as soon as you're ready. Tomorrow then?”

“No, not tomorrow. Almost finished with this suit. They're gonna let me fly it in the practice range.”

“Really? How much longer do you plan on being here?”

“Eh, two days? Three?”

“Three days?” Angela felt increasingly irritated. She really wanted to start studying that Talon data and preferred to do that in her own research lab and not a hotel room. “No, the mission is over and...”

He interrupted her, “I already got permission from Ana. You can upload a copy of the data to her so she can start looking over it with you. Does it matter if you do it here or Gibraltar?”

Angela sighed, “I really don't want to stay at that hotel any longer. It's too expensive.”

“Then stay with Fareeha,” Torbjörn countered.

“I don't want to impose on her anymore, either.”

“Then stay at the safe-house.”

Fortunately, Fareeha entered the room at that moment or Angela might have smacked Torbjörn. Well, she actually wouldn't have, since she didn't hit others, but she _really_ wanted to. 

“There you are,” Fareeha addressed Angela. The woman still wore her full Raptora suit and helmet. She took the helmet off and set it down on a nearby table. She ran a few fingers through her messy and slightly sweaty hair, trying to bring it under order. 

“Ready to head back to your hotel?”

“I am but tell me we're not flying there,” Angela joked as she looked up and down Fareeha's armor.

Fareeha followed Angela's eyes, looking down over her own body. She must have just realized she forgot to change out of her suit.

“No, no,” she laughed. “I'm going to change. I have an hour to drop you off and then get back here. No more flying for me, though,” she looked disappointed. “I have to catch up on paperwork the rest of the day.”

“By the way, Fareeha, we'll be staying a few more days.” Torbjörn cut in. 

“I thought you had what you needed?” Fareeha looked at Angela, puzzled.

Torbjörn answered before Angela got the chance, “Yeah, she did but I still need my payment from Sayed. It'll be ready to hit the test range the day after tomorrow,” he smiled proudly at the half finished suit in the corner of the room.

“Right, how could I forget that,” Fareeha returned his smile.

“Angela here will need a place to stay for a few days after tonight. She can stay with you, right?”

Angela glared at Torbjörn, “No, I don't need...”

“I don't mind.” Fareeha shrugged. “It's just a few days, right?”

Angela felt herself growing frustrated but decided to give in. “It shouldn't even be for one day as we were to leave tomorrow, _Torbjörn_. But yes, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it.”

“That's settled then. I'll go get out of this thing,” Fareeha pointed towards the breastplate on her armor, “and we can leave.” She turned to leave the room but paused at the door.

“Torbjörn, Angela, some of my squad are going out for a few drinks tomorrow. Since you'll be staying a few extra days, you're both invited to join.”

“No thanks, I'm too old for that and I still have a few things to tweak on this suit,” Torbjörn held up the piece of the Raptora suit he was working on. Angela noticed it had a large dent on one side.

She answered next, “I'll second the 'too old' part and will have to pass. But thanks for the offer.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes, “Fine. I'll be back in a few.”

* * *

“You're too old to have a drink or two, huh?” Fareeha asked Angela as they drove back to the hotel. 

“Yes, I outgrew that activity years ago.”

“Hmm...maybe that's for the best. I remember how you were _before_ you outgrew that activity,” Fareeha smiled. This smile was a dangerous smile. A knowing smile.

Angela felt her face flush red. She didn't want Fareeha catching her blush and instinctively brought her hand to her face but quickly let it fall. There was no use in hiding as she knew how red her entire face could get when embarrassed. The damage was done.

Fareeha looked over towards her and laughed. “So you remember that night?”

Angela groaned, “Yes.” She hoped Fareeha forgot about the night so long ago where a younger and very drunk version of herself hit on the Egyptian woman. Realistically, that was something hard to forget.

Fareeha now looked straight ahead towards the road, “You're afraid of a repeat performance?”

Angela scoffed, “Absolutely not. I was young and drunk and desperate. _Very_ desperate...” 

“You don't have to say it like that,” Fareeha pouted but the woman didn't look offended. “Since you're no longer so _desperate_ , I don't see why there should be an issue with you joining us for a drink? We're usually only out a few hours. Well, I am. I won't drink at all.”

“I'll think about it.”

Luckily, they soon reached the hotel parking lot. Angela could only imagine how red her face looked by now.

“Either way, I'll be in touch tomorrow sometime since you'll be staying at my place a few days.”

Fareeha stopped the car near the hotel entrance and Angela hopped out and grabbed her belongings from the hatchback. 

“I'll send you a message when I'm done here,” she called up to Fareeha from the opened back of the car. 

Fareeha turned to face her, “Okay, anytime. I'm off duty tomorrow.”

“Talk to you soon,” Angela waved and closed the hatchback door.

At her hotel room, Angela set up a secure connection to the Overwatch servers at the Gibraltar watchpoint. She proceeded to upload all the information gathered from Talon stored on her own datapads. She'd need to transcribe the information in the notebook later. After a few minutes, she received a message from Ana telling her “Well done” with a thumbs up emoji. Somethings never change.

Angela wanted to talk to Ana about Fareeha, feeling the need to vent to her about her daughter. Earlier that day, Fareeha barely spoke to her on their way to base. Tonight, on the way to the hotel, she invited her out with friends and even teased her about something that happened years ago. Angela didn't know what to make of it. Was Fareeha still a bit angry with her? Was she flirting with her?

Ana would know, right? No, she couldn't ask her about the flirting. Too awkward.

She thought better of saying anything and just replied with a “Thanks” before picking up one of the notebooks. Hopefully she could get through one of these tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots more dialogue and mom angst in this chapter. 
> 
> I don't have cool chapter titles because I hate coming up with them.

_Almost noon. Forty-five more minutes_.

Fareeha checked the time on her cell for at least the tenth time in a half hour. She agreed to pick Angela up at her hotel around lunch and drive the doctor back to her place. Torbjörn still had plans to run his custom built Raptora suit through Helix's test range tomorrow, so Angela was stuck in Egypt for at least another night.

Fareeha was unsure how to entertain the other woman. She planned on meeting up with some friends from work in the evening but Angela declined the invitation to join them. Tomorrow, she'd be at Helix base most of the day and after her shift, she was definitely watching game seven of the Stanley Cup semi-finals. If Vancouver wins, they're on to the finals. Angela definitely didn't seem like a hockey fan, though.

So what the hell could Angela do here for a day, maybe two? Fareeha turned on the large TV in her living room and looked through the movie collection she'd downloaded, which consisted mostly of cheesy old horror or some of the latest action movies. _Slap Shot_? That's a really old movie she wanted to watch today now that's she's in the hockey mood.

_Doubt she'd like any of these. I wonder if she even watches movies_.

Fareeha looked over at the bookcase near the television. Engineering books. Angela's really smart...maybe she'd find them interesting?

_Hmmm, probably not_. 

She could watch TV? Fareeha didn't get many channels and most of them played musalsalat (serial dramas). She decided not to worry about it for now. That could wait for when Angela arrived.

Turns out, Fareeha didn't have to worry about it at all. After retrieving Angela from the hotel, the pair ate a small lunch at her apartment and afterwards Angela disappeared into the guest room. She claimed to have a lot of work to do organizing the data from the Talon lab facility and also wanted to avoid burdening Fareeha on her day off.

It was thoughtful of her, but Fareeha desired Angela's company, at least enough to talk for a bit about the current Overwatch team—maybe even her mother. She missed Ana a great deal but how could she just start talking to her mother again and pretend nothing happened? Having to act like Ana was dead for so long, she almost started to believe it was true.

Fareeha distracted herself with watching movies for most of the day until the time to meet up with her Helix friends approached. Apparently, Saleh would bring his new girlfriend with him tonight. She was starting to wonder if the woman was even real. A couple of people from the cyber-security division would also join them tonight, including Safiya Tahan, whom Fareeha harbored a crush on for the longest time before discovering the woman was married and had a kid. Someone on her squad told Tahan about it during one of their nights out when Fareeha wasn't present. No amount of threats towards her squadmates could earn her the identity of the person who blabbed. Tahan apparently laughed when she found out and eventually turned into a running joke between Fareeha's squad and the cyber-sec team. 

Tahan could be described as _vivacious_ and her bubbly personality instantly drew Fareeha in since she was so easy to get along with. Her small crush evaporated in time when she got to know Tahan better. They really didn't have much in common outside of work. Plus, that woman never took anything seriously. They remained good friends, regardless. 

Soon, it was time for Fareeha to get ready for the night out. She searched her closet for something to wear, deciding on a pair of dark pants and a white short-sleeved blouse trimmed with golden beads. Next came her hair; she wore it down and decided to add some gold beads to match her shirt. Finally, she applied her eye makeup and some perfume. Fareeha wanted to look her best even if she wasn't trying to pick up a random woman at the bar or impress anyone in her circle of friends (well, not anymore since Tahan was off the table). Now Angela—she wouldn't mind showing off for her; difficult with the doctor still hiding out in the spare bedroom.

Maybe she'd try to ask Angela one last time to join them that evening. Fareeha knocked on the door to the spare bedroom. Angela opened the door to greet her and Fareeha caught the doctor's eyes roaming down over her body for a few seconds before they made eye contact. Mission accomplished as far as getting Angela to notice her.

“I assume you're here to tell me you're leaving?”

“Shortly. I still think you should join us, Angela. I'll only be out for a few hours.”

Angela sighed and leaned her shoulder against the inside of the doorway, “You know, I have nothing to wear.”

“You're wearing something right now,” Fareeha smirked.

“You know what I mean,” Angela smiled at her stupid remark at least.

“Don't worry about that. This place is dark and everyone will be drunk. It will be fine and I promise not to keep you out very long.”

“I admit, it's tempting to get a drink after spending the entire day reading through these notes.”

“I agree. So, you're coming right?”

“Okay, Fareeha. But only a few hours and _one_ drink.”

Fareeha smiled, feeling victorious, “I'm staying completely sober so I'll make sure you don't have anymore than one.”

“I'll just need a few minutes to hunt down something that's clean and try to do something with my hair,” Angela ran her hands through the back of her messy pony-tail and pulled out the tie. Her golden hair spilled down over her shoulders. It was Fareeha's turn to gawk for a bit.

“Great. I'll be waiting in the kitchen,” she managed to reply.

* * *

The night air was less chilly than usual but Fareeha still pulled on her leather jacket before leading Angela out to her car. They hopped in and drove off towards the nearby town. Fareeha gave Angela a bit of background on each of her friends meeting with them that night. 

“I just wish I had something more appropriate to wear,” Angela leaned back slightly in the seat and pulled down on her gray t-shirt so Fareeha could get a better look at the print on the front of it. It looked like a coat of arms with a blue field and gold crowns. Fareeha didn't recognize it; probably from one of the universities Angela attended in her illustrious academic career.

“I only brought these old t-shirts.”

Fareeha grinned, “Don't worry. Everyone will be looking at me tonight.”

“Oh, I'm lucky you'll be around,” Angela replied sarcastically.

“Honestly, you have nothing to worry about. I think you would make anything look great. The blue on your shirt really brings out your eyes.”

“Now you're mocking me.”

Fareeha laughed, “I'm not! I mean, somebody will probably hit on you tonight.”

“Somebody? You're not talking about yourself, are you?”

Fareeha felt her cheeks heating up. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead at the road and laughed to cover up the embarrassment, “Of course, I wouldn't. You're my guest and besides—you're not my type.”

Angela laughed and turned to look out the passenger side window. Fareeha glanced towards her and could see the city skyline in the distance.

“It's a beautiful night, at least,” Angela stated softly.

“Yeah,” Fareeha agreed. Great, she already made a fool of herself, though Angela didn't seem to mind.

The two arrived at the small night club in the outskirts of Cairo and found the others waiting for them at a large table near the back. Saleh waved them over. He sat next to a pretty woman who Fareeha assumed was his girlfriend. Tahan was around the other side of the table with Mikos, who was a recent hire from Greece. A few others from the cyber-sec team sat next to him.

Fareeha and Angela took the empty seats on Saleh's side of the table.

“Glad you could make it, Captain. This is Ranya,” he put his arm around the woman next to him and pulled her closer. “Ranya, this is my tight-assed captain I complain about.”

Ranya reached out her hand towards Fareeha and smiled, “He's lying. He's only told me good things about you.”

“Likewise,” Fareeha shook the woman's hand. She was definitely pretty with short, curly hair and large brown eyes.

Fareeha introduced Angela to everyone at the table. “How long have you been drinking?” she asked after finishing.

“A few hours,” Saleh replied.

“Drunk already?”

He laughed, “No way, Captain.”

“He is,” Ranya interrupted, “I'm driving tonight. Someone has to be responsible.” She smiled at Saleh who still had his arm around her.

“What about you, Captain?”

“I'm driving us as well,” she tilted her head towards Angela.

“Oooh, so your doctor friend is drinking tonight?” Saleh looked over at Angela.

“Just one. Speaking of which, I'm going to get a drink. Would you like anything, Fareeha?”

“Just water. Here, I'll give you something for the drinks.”

“You don't have to.”

“It's the least I can do for accompanying me tonight.” Fareeha reached in her wallet and handed her enough pounds for a few drinks.

“Thank you. I know you'll insist if I refuse,” Angela accepted the money stood from the table and left. 

“So?” Saleh asked Fareeha when Angela was gone.

“So?” Fareeha mimicked his question.

“Is she your date for tonight?” he nodded his head in the direction Angela left.

Fareeha glared at him, “No, I'm just playing host. Angela was just a friend of my mom's.” She caught herself almost saying _is_ a friend of her mom's. Most people still think Ana's dead, including her friends and colleagues.

“You don't have to look at me like that, I was just wondering.” Saleh turned to Ranya. “See, I told you how intimidating she can get.”

“Hmm...I don't blame her. It's not your business Saleh,” she smirked at her boyfriend, taking a sip from her drink.

“Wait, she was a friend of Ana's? Was she in Overwatch?” Tahan yelled excitedly from across the table. The woman was a _huge_ Ana Amari fan. Fareeha's mother was a hero to a lot of people in Egypt but Tahan admired the legend more than most. Ana inspired her to follow her dreams and study computer science at uni, which eventually lead her to a leadership position in Helix's cyber-security team. Fareeha heard the story many times. Tahan nearly had a heart attack when she found out Ana's daughter worked for Helix. Now, Tahan would likely barrage Angela with a hundred questions about Ana Amari.

“Yes,” Fareeha answered. Tahan's face lit up instantly.

Saleh laughed, “You know, if Tahan was into women, she'd probably leave her husband and date you just because you're Ana's daughter.”

“Shut up, Saleh,” Fareeha shot him a dirty look.

“What's this all about,” Ranya looked confused.

“Captain had a thing for Tahan before finding out she was married,” Saleh blurted out. Fareeha continued glaring at him.

“ _Had_ , notice the use of past tense,” Fareeha clarified. She would bet a fortune that Saleh was the one who told Tahan about it in the first place.

Tahan laughed, “I'm just glad I still got it.”

They continued to poke fun at Fareeha for a few more minutes. She didn't mind but it would be funnier if she was drunk herself. Angela finally appeared with drinks, catching the end of the conversation.

“I must have missed something,” she sat down next to Fareeha and handed her the glass of water.

“They're laughing at me. Nothing to worry about.”

Angela took a sip of her drink, “I'm sorry I missed it then.”

Saleh laughed, “I can fill you in...”

“No,” Fareeha quickly stopped him mid-sentence. 

“You're no fun,” he mimicked a childish pout. Fareeha noticed Tahan bouncing in anticipation across the table. She wanted to talk to Angela about Overwatch and Ana.

“Anyway,” Fareeha smiled and turned to Angela. “I mentioned to Tahan here that you knew my mother well. She's a big fan of hers.”

Tahan waved and smiled at Angela. “If you don't mind. I just wanted to know what it was like working with her. Wow, you must have some stories.”

“I'm not sure what I could tell you about Ana that Fareeha couldn't.”

“You served with her in Overwatch and I didn't,” Fareeha replied, trying not to sound bitter.

Angela's eyes locked with Fareeha's for a few seconds. She looked concerned but didn't say anything and turned towards Tahan, “I'll be glad to answer a few questions.”

“Ha, a few!” Saleh laughed and smacked his hand on the table. “Get ready for hundreds.”

“Perfect!” Tahan's face beamed. She jumped up from her seat and moved to the other side of the table to sit on Angela's left side. The two started talking and Fareeha felt something she couldn't quite distinguish. Jealousy? It bothered her realizing Angela knew more about her own mother; at least in regards to topics Tahan would be interested in. Also, she wanted to talk to Angela _sometime_ tonight and that seemed unlikely now. Tahan could be an unstoppable chatter-box.

“What's wrong, Captain?” Saleh must have picked up on her mood change.

Fareeha smiled, trying to play it off, “I just wish I had a beer.”

“Hey, at least the Canucks won and pushed a game seven. They play in a few days?” 

“Yeah.” They spent the next minutes talking about hockey. Next, the topic changed to Ranya's studies at the university. Fareeha would occasionally hear Tahan laugh about something Angela said in one of her stories about Ana.

After a half hour, Tahan excused herself from the group when her husband arrived to pick her up. Those remaining spent the next hour reminiscing about their younger days spent at university. Fareeha discovered Angela attended Oxford and earned a Ph.D. along with her M.D.—all before the age of twenty-four. Ranya continued to ask Angela various questions about her academic career. Saleh tried to keep up but it grew increasingly harder to understand him, slurring most of his words. 

Ranya had enough and decided to drag him home after his head drooped onto his chest for a few seconds before he snapped it back up. They said their farewells while Mikos and the others left with them. Fareeha remembered the bottle of whiskey resting in her kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator. She really needed a glass of that right now. They left shortly after Angela finished her drink and took off in Fareeha's car. 

“Are you okay? You seemed a little quiet tonight,” Angela asked looking concerned from the passenger's side.

“I'm fine. It's usually difficult to get a word in with Tahan and Saleh around.”

“I noticed,” Angela smiled. “You do look incredible tonight, by the way.”

Fareeha laughed, “I thought you only had one drink?”

“I would have told you earlier but it seemed you knew already. You don't lack for confidence.”

“Well, I didn't _know_ —I just hoped I looked good.”

“And who were you _hoping_ you looked good for? Your friend, Tahan?” Angela smiled, her eyes teasing.

“What?” Fareeha's eyebrow shot in the air. 

Angela laughed, “She mentioned you had a thing for her and then asked if we were together.”

Fareeha sighed, “Really?” She would need to have a word with the woman the next time they spoke at work.

“I didn't even get a chance to answer her. She was rambling by that time. I think she had a few too much.”

“Yeah, our little group at Helix is known for that.”

“Known for drinking? Inappropriate questions?”

Fareeha smiled, “Both.”

* * *

The bottle of whiskey sat waiting for Fareeha back at her apartment. Such a loyal friend! She pulled the bottle down from its resting place and poured herself a small tumbler glass over ice. Angela found her way to the living room couch beside the now slightly scuffed coffee table, thanks to Torbjörn.

“Would you like one?” she offered Angela.

“Sure. Just one, though.” 

“You said that earlier. This will be number two.” Fareeha poured another glass of whiskey over ice and handed it to Angela. 

“I should specify; one at the club, one here,” Angela smiled.

Fareeha joined her on the sofa. She sat with her left leg tucked under and angled her body to face Angela. The doctor turned towards her and tasted the whiskey, “What do you usually do while you drink at home?”

“Not much. Usually watch a movie.”

“Hmm...I have a better idea. Why don't we talk for a bit. I think you need to.”

Fareeha raised an eyebrow, “Talk about?”

“Your mother.”

Fareeha sighed, then slowly tilted her head back and downed her entire glass of whiskey. “I'm going to need another drink first.” She went into the kitchen and refilled her tumbler before returning to sit beside Angela.

“Okay. I'm ready.”

“It's really that easy to get you to open up about this? I figured you would tell me to mind my own business.”

“I have a drink,” Fareeha held up her glass. “Plus you complimented me earlier in the car. I forgot to thank you for that. So, thank you.”

“If that's all it takes...” Angela took a drink before continuing, “Alright, your mother has tried to contact you of a few occasions yet you refuse to speak with her. I know you don't hate her, so why?”

Fareeha stared at the ice cubes in her drink hoping they would give her an answer. They floated in the liquid, slowly melting and succumbing to entropy. They were no help at all.

“Fareeha?” Angela gently interrupted her after a few moments of silence.

“I don't know.” She answered softly. It was the truth. Her feelings couldn't be rationalized. If they were a painting, it would look like a mess of random colors and shapes slapped haphazardly on the canvas. The type of painting no one can make sense of.

Fareeha continued, “I think...there are all these negative emotions associated with her but they're not really her fault” She paused to take a drink, “Maybe I blamed her for breaking things off with my dad when I was a little girl, but I know that was best for them both. As I grew older, I always wanted her to look at me like she did others in Overwatch. She can't see anything except for her daughter. I felt guilty because we hardly spoke to each other in the few years before she died—or thought she died. A lot of that was my fault, too. Now that she's back, I'm falling into the same pattern.”

“Why weren't you speaking before she disappeared?”

Fareeha shrugged, “I was young and bitter. She wasn't happy with my decisions. I felt like I failed her.”

“Knowing her, she wouldn't want you to feel that way. She has to be proud of of what you've accomplished.”

“I don't see it that way. She's never told me anything like that.”

“Well, she should. I think you're both equally at fault and need to talk to each other.”

Fareeha sighed and finished the remainder of her second drink, “I know. I will, in time.”

“You may not have time, Fareeha. Trust me when I say that.” Angela's sad face betrayed that she knew this from personal experience. Fareeha considered asking for elaboration but decided not to pry.

“Thanks, I'll take this into consideration. I'm going to pour another drink and maybe we can talk about something lighter?”

Fareeha started to offer Angela another drink but noticed her glass tumbler was still mostly full. She left the couch and after pouring herself another, returned to sit down beside Angela. The two of them talked for a couple of hours about various topics—mostly, old Overwatch team members they both knew in common. They talked about Angela's aid work in the Middle East. They talked about more ordinary subjects such as food and music. Fareeha admitted to herself she felt rather at ease holding a conversation with the world famous medical researcher. Or maybe it was just the alcohol.

The subject eventually turned around to Overwatch again. Fareeha sat on one particular question like a protective mother hen all night. Why did Angela sign on with the team again? Years ago, she joined the chorus of those calling to disband Overwatch. Now feeling the effects of alcohol, Fareeha set her jaw, determined to finally ask the question.

“I'm curious why you signed up with Overwatch after recall? I remember you were one of their biggest detractors during the signing of the Petras Act.”

“I did have my problems with them, yes. In hindsight, I believe the UN handled the situation poorly. I've mentioned their neglect in securing some old Overwatch facilities before. It seems your employers eventually profited from that.”

“Right,” Fareeha agreed. Helix gained a decent amount of contracts to guard some of them in the last few years.

Angela swallowed a mouthful of whiskey and continued, “Other than that, Talon now runs around unchecked. They were a minor problem before but now they threaten on a larger scale. I'm angry they're using my own research to accomplish this.”

“If you don't mind me asking, what problems did you have with Overwatch from before?”

“Believe it or not, similar to my issues with Talon. They weaponized some of my research without my permission. Torbjörn was the worst culprit, as I'm sure you can imagine. I know they had good intentions, unlike Talon,” Angela sighed. “I just wish they would have consulted me first. I often felt like they never respected me enough for that, probably due to my relative youth at the time.”

Fareeha frowned, “I'm sorry, Angela. You deserved better than that.”

“While we're on this topic. I have a question for you,” Angela set down her now empty glass on the table next to the sofa, “Your mother's currently using a sniper rifle enhanced with my own healing technology. Torbjörn created it years ago without my permission. He only made a prototype and I thought it destroyed. I was unhappy to see it turn up again in Ana's possession. She argues that it's saved many lives over the years and was worth it. I'm curious to hear your opinion about this.”

“My opinion? Why would it matter?” Fareeha found it odd Angela would care what she thought. It's not like she could make her mother destroy the rifle.

“I'm just curious, like I said. Your mother's stubborn and will continue to use it no matter what I say.”

“Well, I agree with her on that point. If it's helped her save lives, why should she stop using it for that purpose?” Fareeha paused, expecting Angela to argue with her. However, the doctor remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“I see your side, too. He shouldn't have went behind your back in the first place. If this new Overwatch wants to keep your talents, they'll need transparency and respect for your decisions when it comes to using your technology.”

Angela smiled, “I'm glad you agree. I already had this discussion with Winston and he was sympathetic. Not surprising from a fellow scientist. My biggest concern is Torbjörn. I don't think he ever intended this out of disrespect but that man can't keep his hands to himself when it comes to experimenting with technology.”

Fareeha laughed, “Oh, I've heard stories.”

Angela yawned, warning them how late it was getting. Fareeha's shift at Helix started early in the morning. Angela would travel in with her and spend part of the morning watching Torbjörn fly around in his modified Raptora armor suit. When the man got his fill of that, they planned to finally leave Egypt. Fareeha's life would finally get back to normal with them gone. A few days ago, she couldn't wait for that to happen. Now, she was a little sad thinking about it.

* * *

Fareeha and Angela woke up early the next morning and traveled to the Helix base after eating a quick breakfast. They arrived just in time to watch Torbjörn's Raptora test run in the practice range. They watched from outside the large ballistic glass windows that overlooked the huge room used for flying and weapons training. The room also contained a handful of dummies for target practice.

Angela looked worried the first time Torbjörn shot up into the air, “If I have to explain to his wife that this is how he died, I won't be happy.”

Fareeha chuckled, “I think Sayed made sure he tuned down most of the systems. The jet boosters in his suit shouldn't be nearly as powerful as mine, for example.”

Torbjörn hovered in the air a few seconds before firing a rocket from his left shoulder compartment. It hit one of the dummies and the man cried out in triumph. 

“They apparently did give him a few rockets, though.”

“Great.”

“Are you sure you don't want to pilot one, doctor?” Fareeha leaned her shoulder against the wall opposite the training room and smiled over at Angela.

“I'll pass. I have plenty of experience flying in my own suit.”

“Sure, but can it shoot rockets?”

“No, it doesn't shoot rockets. That was be design, in case you were wondering.”

“Torbjörn could help you modify it with a few rockets.” 

Angela laughed and turned her attention back to Torbjörn. Now the man was slowly spinning around a few meters above the ground. She sighed, “How long will he be doing this?”

“It's hard to stop once you get the hang of it. So eager to leave?”

Angela's face looked apologetic, “No offense, but yes. I'll have a lot of work to do once I get back.”

“None taken,” Fareeha tried not to look pouty. “I should get ready for my shift. I probably won't see you again before you leave.”

Angela turned to face her, “Look, if you ever need to talk to someone about...” she looked around to make sure no one was in earshot but lowered her voice before continuing, “...your mother or the things happening with Overwatch. You have my number now and you can call me.”

“Thanks, Angela. Tell Torbjörn and Bastion I said goodbye.” 

“I will. Thank you for putting up with us these past few days.”

She smiled up at Fareeha and stepped towards her, offering her arms for a hug. Fareeha closed the gap between them, tightly wrapping her arms around Angela but tried not to squeeze too hard. They pulled apart after a short moment. She wished it could have lasted a little longer. It was great feeling Angela's body that close to her own.

“Take care, Fareeha,” Angela said before grabbing Fareeha's hand with a gentle squeeze. She let go and Fareeha smiled sadly before turning to walk down the hallway towards her office. She wondered when she would see Angela again.

When Fareeha arrived at her office and opened the door, she found a surprise visitor.

“Tahan? What are you doing here?” Fareeha found the woman casually laid across the small couch against the right wall of the office. Her legs were propped up over one arm with her long, dark hair falling back over the other arm. She held a datapad in her left hand. When she heard Fareeha's voice, she sat upright, laying the datapad down on a nearby table.

“You! How could you just _forget_ to mention you were bringing Dr. Angela Ziegler out with you last night? I was so drunk, I probably sounded like an ass.” Tahan cried, waving her hands above her head for a few seconds. She was typically dramatic with her hand gestures, especially when excited. The woman didn't seem hung over as one would expect considering how much she had.

Fareeha sat down at her desk across from the couch, “You still would have sounded like an ass, I'm sure.”

“No! Shut up. You know she pioneered the entire nanobiology field as we know it today, right? Ph.D. from Oxford by age twenty. She's a freaking genius!”

“Yes, I'm aware of this. Dr. Ziegler's still on base today until this afternoon if you'd like to meet her again.”

“Can't. I'm going to be in a meeting all day. In a half-hour. I should leave soon,” Tahan was now speaking rapidly. “Did she say anything about me last night? I didn't embarrass myself, did I”

“She said you were obnoxious. You asked a ton of pointless questions and she couldn't get a word in edgewise” 

Tahan squinted her golden eyes at Fareeha. “You're lying.”

“You tried to pry into her personal life. Asked her if we were dating.”

She grinned, “You and her? I know that's not true. Why would I ask her that? She's out of your league, Amari.”

Fareeha picked up a pen on her desk and tossed it towards Tahan. She dodged it by jumping off the couch at the last minute. 

“Tahan, don't you have a meeting to prepare for?” 

She snorted a laugh and quickly left the office.


	7. Chapter 7

Angela met Torbjörn at his temporary quarters, in the Helix guard facility, shortly after the man finished having his fun piloting the Raptora suit. The small room was utterly a mess with random mechanical pieces and his armoring equipment strewn all about. Bastion rested in a corner with Ganymede. It tapped one of its fingers along to the beat of the weird synthetic music Torbjörn played while he cleaned up.

“Torbjörn? Will you ready to leave soon? I want to go before it gets too dark.”

“Ja, I just need to clean up first. Then I'll be ready.”

“Great,” she watched Torbjörn toss a few wrenches into a small toolbox he brought with him for this mission. “Do you need any help?”

“Nah, I always lose a tool or two when I let someone else touch them. They never know where anything's supposed to go.” Angela wanted to point out that he was just haphazardly tossing each of his tools into one box and that would be simple enough for her to help with, but she decided against starting an argument. 

“Alright, I'll be waiting in the garage near our vehicle.” 

After leaving the HSI base that day, they planned on driving the ATV back to the safehouse, where they would wait for an Overwatch transport to pick them up and take them back to Gibraltar. This time, Winston informed them that Lena Oxton would retrieve them instead of relying on the auto-pilot . As he explained, the energetic woman felt kind of restless and started getting on a few nerves back at the watchpoint, so this was good for everyone. Angela looked forward to speaking with Lena since they haven't yet had much of a chance to do so since the Recall. She always admired the younger woman for her unflinching optimism and hoped Mondatta's recent assassination didn't shake her too much. 

Angela placed her belongings in the back of the ATV and leaned against the side, waiting for Torbjörn and Bastion. Once they returned to Gibraltar, she wanted to start sifting through all the Talon research data she found and develop her own technology to counter theirs. She had a few ideas, but nothing concrete until she could run her own simulations. 

Suddenly, a figure moving just inside her field of vision caught her attention. A person in a Raptora suit walked outside the garage past the open doors. At first, Angela thought it was Fareeha, or maybe hoped it was her. Needless to say, she felt slight disappointment when realizing it was another Helix security guard. 

In these past few days, Angela caught herself thinking about Fareeha more than she was comfortable with. She always avoided attachments like the plague—they couldn't be healthy for someone like her; someone so dedicated to her profession and someone who still couldn't deal with loss even well into adulthood. Yet, she wished she could talk to Fareeha one last time before they left even when she knew it was a bad idea. At least she had an important project to get caught in and wipe away these feelings from her mind. For that, she was grateful they were leaving Egypt soon. 

However, a small part of her secretly desired to kidnap Fareeha and take her back to Gibraltar with them. She would lock her with Ana in a room together until the two reconciled. Then, Fareeha could join Overwatch and leave the soulless corporation she now worked for and their greedy interests behind. Angela knew she'd make a great addition to their roster; a highly decorated soldier with years of leadership experience; a woman of honor who took her duty seriously but also someone who was easy to talk to and actually listened to you and your concerns. While Fareeha would make a good agent, her potential to become a strong leader for the fledgling organization was her greatest asset. Others were reluctant to take charge, including Angela herself. Ana didn't want that responsibility any more, stating the next generation should give Overwatch a new direction. Winston, her fellow scientist, shared Angela's attitude towards leadership, but he reluctantly took on most of those duties since Recall.

Either way, that decision was Fareeha's and hers alone.

Fifteen minutes later, Angela's traveling companions finally met her in the garage. They packed their gear into the back of the vehicle and left for the safehouse. They arrived shortly after leaving the base; everything appeared just how they left it a few days ago. According to Winston, Lena would be arriving at the drop point within three to four hours.

* * *

An hour had passed since they arrived at the safehouse. Angela spent most of this time reading the news and daydreaming about what she'd do as soon as they returned to Gibraltar. At the top of her list: taking a bath and then falling asleep in her own bed. It was nice to finally have a place she could call “home”; these past few years she spent as a field medic kept her constantly on the move and living out of tents or medical vans. Not that she minded. She loved that line of work, saving lives was her passion, and she'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Little did Angela know, she wouldn't be taking that bath anytime soon.

A loud noise from the front of the safehouse plucked her out of the reverie. Her eyes searched for Torbjörn, who looked as troubled as she felt. They both grabbed their weapon and slowly approached the front entry room. Thankfully, Angela had equipped her Valkyrie suit for the trip back. She usually packed it up but decided to wear it while they waited in case something like this happened.

When they entered the front room, Angela immediately noticed the door busted down and the silhouette of a large, shadowy figure in the middle of the doorway. She found it difficult to make out details with the bright sun now shining in through the room.

“It looks like I found the right place,” the figure said with a gravelly voice. He stepped forward and Angela finally could get a better look at the intruder—long black robes, a white mask covering his face. The man was Gabriel Reyes, or “Reaper” as he went by these days. Both Winston and Ana had a recent run in with the former Blackwatch leader and their description matched this person exactly. 

As Reaper moved into the room, two heavily armed Talon agents entered right after him. Angela readied her pistol and noticed Torbjörn do the same with his rivet gun. 

“We have this place surrounded. Surrender,” Reaper ordered as his agents drew near. 

“What do you want from us?” Angela almost shouted. She trained her pistol on the shadow of a man.

Reaper laughed, “You'll find out soon enough.”

A woman suddenly materialized out of thin air next to Reaper. She dressed mostly in dark purple and black armor from head to toe and one side of her head was shaved and covered with cybernetic implants.

“I took care of it,” she stated casually as she walked beside him.

“The bastion?”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, what did you think I meant, Gabe?” She turned towards Angela and Torbjörn, ”Old friends of yours?” 

Reaper ignored the woman. “Looks like it's just the two of you, now.”

“You're not getting anything from us, Reyes,” Torbjörn shouted and shot the man with his gun. Reaper quickly turned into a black mist and the bullet traveled right through him, instead hitting the wall behind. Winston once mentioned he possessed the ability to do this, but Angela still couldn't believe she was seeing it with her own eyes.

The black mist slowly moved towards Torbjörn as he hopelessly fired a round off at the thing. While Torbjörn reloaded, Reaper finally materialized before the smaller man.

“I never liked you.” He struck the butt of his shotgun against Torbjörn's head, knocking him out cold. It happened too fast, before Angela could react. She tried not to panic but felt her throat tightening and her heart raced. There wasn't much she could do now, outnumbered and surrounded. Bastion, even alone, possessed the firepower to easily take on all of the intruders but the woman with the bright purple cybernetics apparently disabled it. 

Angela never had a chance come up with a plan. One of the Talon agents threw a smoking canister at her feet. She felt tired all of a sudden. Sleeping gas. The last thing she remembered was Reaper's masked face staring down at her before passing out.

* * *

Slowly, Angela awoke from her chemical induced slumber. In spite of a mental fog clouding her vision, she could make out Reaper, back turned towards her, standing on the other side of the room. Next to him, stood the woman in purple. They both focused their attention on a holo-communicator sitting on a table before them. From her angle on the ground, she couldn't catch a glimpse of who they were speaking to but the person sounded like a woman with a distinctively French accent.

“How much longer will you be in Egypt?”

“A few more days, Widowmaker,” Reaper replied, a hint of disdain in his voice.

“You think this plan of yours will work?”

“I'm sure of it. Morrison won't sit by if he knows two of his old friends are in danger.”

The woman scoffed, “You said that the last time before your plan to catch him failed. I have my orders and both you and Sombra are expected in Russia by the end of the week to assist me. You have five days.”

The holo-communicator fell silent. 

“What, does she really need us to hold her hand while she blows someone's brains out?” the woman named Sombra spoke first.

“It's probably not that simple if Talon requires our assistance. I'll make sure to finish my reunion with Jack before then.”

Angela kept her eyes shut, pretending she still slept from the gas. During her transport to their current location, her Valkyrie suit slowly released chemicals into her blood stream to counter its effects. She woke up a lot sooner than they planned. Reaper and Sombra must have taken her to yet another Talon base the terrorists owned in this desert; she didn't recognize this room as being part of the one she and the others explored days ago.

“You really think he's gonna come for them?” Sombra asked, sounding skeptical of the plan herself.

“Yes, you don't know him like I do.”

“I mean, I can get the message out so he'll get it...include a few pictures of the hostages looking alive and healthy. But, will he trust it?”

“Of course not, but won't take the risk of anything happening to them either.”

“So...what happens if Jack shows up?”

“What do you think?” Reaper replied with malice in his voice.

“So much for a happy reunion,” Sombra laughed. “What about these two?”

“Talon can find a use for them. They've both created enough horrors in their time. Now, they can make them for Talon.”

“Hmmm...I doubt they'll agree to that, Gabe.”

“They won't have a choice. I'm checking on the other one. Stay here and watch her.” After a few moments, Angela heard the light footsteps of someone walking near her. She could only assume it was Sombra—no one else was with them.

“I know you're awake, _chica_ ,” Sombra whispered playfully into her ear. 

No use pretending anymore, Angela decided. “How did you know?”

Sombra chuckled, “I saw you move just a hair out of the corner of my eye. I also know something about how your suit works. And your implants.”

“Why didn't you say anything before he left?”

“I have my reasons. No, I'm not going to share them with you,” Sombra winked and flashed her a sly smile.

“I'm not too concerned about those right now,” Angela replied weakly. She still felt somewhat drowsy from the sleeping gas. “What does Reyes want with us? There's something off with him. Well, besides the obvious,” this comment elicited a snicker from Sombra. “He...he acts as if Jack Morrison is still alive.”

Sombra's eyes lit up like a firecracker and a smirk flashed across her face. “I guess you don't know about that yet, huh? Your former Strike Commander is still alive and hiding out somewhere in this desert. Gabe wants to draw him out for one final confrontation...and you two are the bait.”

“But how is he...wait, nevermind. Nevermind,” Angela sighed. “I shouldn't be surprised considering Ana and Gabriel are still alive.”

“I'm not sure if Gabe is even alive. _Eso es una mierda rara_. You might be able to answer that, though. Hold on...” Sombra reached a gloved finger to her right ear. She nodded her head a few times. “Yeah, she's still out cold, Gabe,” she winked over at Angela. “Okay, I'll be right there.”

Sombra waved her hands near her forearm, summoning some sort of holographic computer interface. Purple blade-like claws shot out of her right fingertips and it appeared she used these to type over the surface of the interface.

“I have to go prepare for our little reunion with your friend Jack,” Sombra stated, still typing away at her holograpic forearm computer. She stopped and smiled at Angela. “I do hope we meet again someday.”

“And I hope we don't.”

“Aw, that's a _shame_. I think we could be good friends.” Sombra swiped her hand and closed out the holographic screen. She left the room without another word. 

Angela was finally alone with her arms tied behind her back, sitting on a cold, hard floor in some remote Talon base. She wondered how much time passed since they left the safehouse and if Lena had yet arrived in the transport. She imagined the younger woman attempting to contact them but receiving no answer. What if Reyes, or “Reaper” as he's known now, got to her too? She frantically looked around the room for any possible escape routes. No windows, just one door. Her chest tightened. 

Angela took a deep breath, _Stop panicking and think!_

She knew the counteragent injected into her bloodstream by the Valkyrie suit would take less than an hour to work. In that case, only a short time had passed so Lena would still be traveling in the transport and out of harms way. Neither Reaper nor Sombra seemed interested in killing them, though Talon's “plans” for them were probably worse. Regardless, they were relatively safe for now and she still had time to think of something...

Angela took a few deep breaths while she remained seated on the floor. A few minutes later, she heard the door to her room open. She immediately shut her eyes to feign sleeping and slouched down so her chin rested on her chest. She heard the visitor's boots scraping against the floor as they neared her position; the sound stopped and Angela felt a presence kneeling on the ground beside her.

“My orders from Reaper are to carry you to the van and wait on the others,” the monotone voice sounded like it came from a young man. Angela felt a hand grab her chin and turn her head upwards to face them. She opened her eyes on instinct even though she fought it. A pair of red googles over a black mask stared back at her. This person looked like one of the Talon agents who accompanied Reaper earlier at the safehouse. The man said nothing to her and began undoing the bindings around her wrist. 

Odd. 

With her arms free, she could attempt to fight the man but he still carried a pistol holstered on the side of his leg. What if she grabbed the pistol off him? She was confident she could take on this single agent but what about the rest of them in the base? How difficult would it be to get to an exit? She didn't know the layout; didn't know many forces Talon had. Too risky. 

Angela brought her hands forward from behind her back and massaged her right wrist with her left fingers. The man pulled something out of a leather bag he wore against his hip. It was a small datapad. He handed it to her without hesitation.

“This contains base schematics with instructions on how to leave without detection.” Again, the man sounded wooden, almost as if he was reading from a script being fed to him in real time. “There are set of coordinates that will lead you to a location nearby in the desert. You will be safe if you go there.”

Angela accepted the datapad. So, he was helping her escape, but why? The Talon guard removed his pistol from its holster and handed that to her as well.

“Take this. You'll also need to shoot me, even kill me if you think it necessary.”

“Sorry, did you just ask me to kill you?” she replied. The man paused for a few moments as if he was waiting for something or listening to someone.

“We need to make this look like a convincing escape,” he finally explained in his monotonous tone. Angela recalled finding some reports on a Talon brainwashing program within the data she recently collected. This man might have been a victim of that. Honestly, most of their foot soldiers were likely brainwashed to some extent. 

Angela had no choice if she wanted to escape but refused to shoot to kill. She took aim and shot him in the leg. The pistol had a silencer and so no other guards were alerted . The recetly wounded Talon agent didn't even cry out in pain and just slumped over on the floor. 

It was all very strange. 

With caution, Angela peeked her head out of the door to her confinement room, looking for a sign of anyone patrolling the hallway. It was clear. She studied the instructions on the datapad:

_Turn left. Go down to the end of the hallway and enter the room on the right. You'll see a door on the right-side of the room. This leads directly to the roof. Figure the rest out yourself._

The roof. Right, she could glide down from it to safety, hopefully without anyone noticing. She expanded the wings on her Valkyrie suit to test if they were still operational. They worked, to Angela's relief. She wanted to rescue the others but had no idea where they kept Torbjörn and Bastion, or even if they were in this building. The datapad didn't provide any details on their whereabouts either. Regretably, she would have to leave them and come back with others for a rescue. She hated the thought of abandoning them but had very few options.

With a heavy heart, Angela followed the instructions until they led her to the rooftop, fortunately, not running into anyone on the way. From her vantage, the building she just exited looked rather small, so this wasn't a huge Talon installation.

Her eyes scanned the horizon. Nothing but desert. The instructions on the datapad told her to head west. It also came equipped with a GPS to help her find the “safe” coordinates. Whoever was helping her thought of everything. She walked over to the west side of the builing and peered over the ledge. No one in sight. She could see a small fence that surrounded the building. 

“Here goes nothing,” Angela readied the pistol she took from the Talon agent and expanded her wings. She glided towards the fence and cleared it easily with a few meters to spare. As soon as she landed on the other side, she turned back towards the run-down looking building with her pistol aimed in front of her, in case a guard followed her. 

Realizing no one gave chase, Angela turned and ran in the direction of the coordinates provided on the datapad, following the GPS's instructions. It took her a little over a half an hour before she neared the destination—a small, remote village, somewhere south of Giza according to the map on the datapad. The coordinates specifically led her to an abandoned building on the outskirts. She found one of the doors on the back unlocked. Hopefully, no one from Talon waited on the inside for her. Could this be a trap? Why would someone from within Talon help her escape only to lead her into another trap? That made no sense. Then again, someone in Talon helping her at all didn't make any damn sense in the first place. 

Angela pulled out the pistol as she entered the building to begin her search inside. The place looked like an old warehouse, containing a fair amount of large crates as well as plenty of hiding spots, unfortunately. Angela continued searching the large room for around twenty minutes until satisfied no one was around. She figured that if she just walked into another trap, it would've been sprung by now. 

After exploring the warehouse, her first impulse was to contact Lena. She could send her these coordinates and together the two could come up with some plan to try and rescue Torbjörn and Bastion. Angela still felt like complete shit for just leaving them. She at least took comfort in the fact that Reaper needed them to 'bait' Morrison, which still gave them some time.

Angela activated the communicator in her suit, thankful that it still worked.

“Dr. Ziegler!” The cheery Brit answered on the other line. “I should be there in about an hour, luv. I've made really good time...”

“Lena, we have a problem,” Angela interrupted, keeping her voice as low as possible. “Talon ambushed us while we were waiting at the safehouse. I managed to escape but they still have Torbjörn and Bastion.”

“Are you safe at your current location?” this voice wasn't Lena's but Ana's. 

“I...I believe so. Why are you with Lena, Ana?” 

“Not because I miss the desert, that's for sure. I have some business to take care of in Egypt and I wanted to save on the flight cost. But, forget about that, what happened? What did Talon want from you?”

“As I said, they ambushed us, knocked us out with sleeping gas. I awoke in one of their hideouts near my location. Reyes wanted to use Torbjörn and myself as bait,” Angela paused waiting for any questions. None came.

“It's for Jack Morrison. They claim he's still alive and hiding out in this desert somewhere.”

“What? No way. Commander Morrison's alive?” Angela heard Lena's excited voice chime in over the comm-line.

“It's true and I've known about it for awhile,” Ana confirmed. Her voice was suprisingly calm as if she didn't just drop a huge bombshell.

“Of course you did,” Angela replied dryly.

“Wow...that's...wow,” Lena added, at a loss for words; a rarity for her.

“He's the reason I'm traveling to Egypt, actually. I wanted to check in on him. It seems we had bad intel. We were certain Gabriel left Egypt months ago.”

“Well, he's definitely here,” was all Angela could manage to say in response.

“Give us your coordinates and we'll meet you as soon as we touch down. The vehicle is still at the safehouse?” Ana asked.

“Yes, we left it in the garage. I don't know if Reyes or anyone destroyed it, though.”

“We'll try to reach your position as soon as we can but it's probably going to be a little over an hour. Are you sure you're safe?”

“I wouldn't say I'm sure, Ana. I know nothing about this area.” Angela suddenly remembered she had Fareeha's phone number and could contact her. The HSI base was probably close to her location. 

“This might be a bad idea, but I could contact Fareeha. She's currently stationed at a local Helix outpost. She could extract me from this location and take me to their base.”

“Hmm...no, that's not a bad idea but I'd prefer for you to stay at your current location. I don't want Helix involved in this. Fareeha knows the area and can help you assess any potential threats and deal with them, if need be. Contact her. I'll get in touch with Jack. I'm going to drop off this line for now. Amari out.”

The line went silent and Angela sighed. Even if it was her idea, she now had second thoughts about contacting Fareeha. The woman didn't deserve to get involved in this mess —a very dangerous mess. Would she even fly out to her in the middle of the desert? Angela felt guilty; she knew Fareeha would come out there for her, or for anyone really. She wouldn't abide Talon harming anyone. 

Additionally, bringing Fareeha out here also meant forcing a reunion between her and Ana.

Really bad timing for that.

After hesitating, Angela finally decided to send a message to Fareeha. 

**A. Ziegler** : Fareeha...are you busy? I need your help.

It was a dumb question. _Of course_ she was busy. After two minutes that seemed to last forever, she received a reply.

 **Fareeha Amari** : I'm still in my office. Swamped with paperwork. Shouldn't you be gone by now?

 **A. Ziegler** : We had a run in with Talon. They have Torbjörn and Bastion. I'm stranded in a small village near your base. 

**Fareeha Amari** : Are you okay? Is it safe there? If you send me your location, I can come get you.

 **A. Ziegler** : I'm fine. I'll send you my coordinates.

Angela sent her the coordinates listed on the Talon datapad. 

**Fareeha Amari** : I got them. I'll be there as soon as I can.

 **A. Ziegler** : I'm sorry you had to get involved.

Fareeha didn't reply to her after that last message.

* * *

Not even a half hour passed before Angela heard the familiar sound of a Raptora combat suit flying in the air near her position. She heard a loud _thump_ as Fareeha touched down ouside the abandoned warehouse. Since it was still light out, she feared the woman's sudden presence would cause a stir among locals in the small town. She left the warehouse through the back door to meet the Raptora pilot. She smiled for the first time in hours when she caught sight of the blue armored figure standing before her.

“Fareeha, I'm glad you're here. Do you think anyone noticed you?”

“I'm sure they did but the locals are used to our patrols,” she replied with concern written all over her face. “What happened? Are you injured?”

“I'm fine,” Angela motioned for the other woman to follow her. “Come inside. I'll fill you in.”

Angela recounted everything she could remember since the run-in with Reaper and Talon at the safehouse. Fareeha didn't interrupt the story, except for the parts where she metioned both Gabriel and Jack were still alive. It must have been quite the shock for her; she grew up around these men and looked up to them as role-models. Fareeha took the news about Gabriel the hardest. From what Ana had mentioned, they were close when she was a little girl. Fareeha had a few angry words after hearing the man turned into a homicidal terrorist but quickly composed herself to allow Angela to continue her story. 

Angela finally described the strangeness of her escape and her trip through the desert to their current whereabouts. 

“I arrived and found this place empty. I contacted Lena who should hopefully be arriving shortly and um...” Angela paused. “I don't know how to tell you this but your mother is coming with her.”

“She is?” Fareeha unexpectantly sounded neutral. Angela couldn't read the expression on her face from under the helmet, however, she did catch a slight frown forming on the woman's full lips.

“I'm sorry. I didn't know she was with Lena.”

“No need to apologize. My feelings don't matter right now. There are more important things to worry about. Rescuing Torbjörn, Bastion, and making Talon pay for this. My mother can help us with that.”

“Your feelings do matter, Fareeha, but I agree with the second part.”

Fareeha opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. She suddenly closed her mouth and growled in frustration.

“What's wrong, Fareeha?”

She touched the side of her helmet. “Nothing now. That was just my superior, Nassar. He's not happy I took off and left Hameer in charge. I turned off my communicator so I don't have to hear him yelling in my ear.” 

“Are you in trouble with Helix?”

Fareeha shrugged but didn't answer. Angela felt even worse about calling Fareeha out here.

“Fareeha?” 

“Like I said, there are more important things to worry about.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is looong. I considered breaking it up, but it's done so I'll just post it all.
> 
> I also wrote ahead and have to change the rating to explicit. Sorry, i did not plan that from the beginning!

Fareeha's eyes scanned the desert, searching for any signs of a potential threat. Angela assured her that Talon didn't give chase when she escaped from their hideout. If true, why would they allow her to get away so easily? Perhaps they wanted her to lead them to more Overwatch agents? Either way, if they attacked now, Fareeha would be ready for them. 

She wasn't ready to see her mom within an hour.

Fareeha heard a door close behind her. Soon, Angela stood at her side.

“Still clear?” The woman asked while looking at Fareeha. Her eyes remained fixed ahead, not turning to Angela right away.

“Yes. No sign of Talon or anyone else.”

“That's good. Lena and Ana have arrived at the safehouse and should reach us shortly.”

Fareeha took a deep breath. Her stomach churned from nerves. Angela gently placed a gloved hand on her armored shoulder. 

“You won't be alone, at least. I'll be here. And Lena.”

“I know. I just don't know what to say to her.”

Angela sighed, “I'm sorry. I dumped a lot on you, didn't I?”

Fareeha smiled, “You did. I'll forgive you if you buy me a drink after this.”

* * *

Fareeha and Angela stood watch together for another ten minutes before they heard the hum from a vehicle as it approached the warehouse. 

“They're here,” Angela murmured. “I'll go greet them.”

Angela left Fareeha's side and disappeared into the warehouse. 

Fareeha waited a few minutes before deciding to follow Angela and face her mother again after years. Nerves still on edge, she slowly opened the door and entered the warehouse; instantly spotting Ana speaking to Angela. Her mother looked so different from how she remembered. She wore a large brown coat with a blue-trimmed black hood covering her head. Her hair poked out from under the hood and it was no longer gray but pure white. The Eye of Horus underneath her left eye was one of her only familiar features. Well, and the sniper rifle slung over her left shoulder.

Fareeha slowly walked towards them, her legs felt like jelly. Ana noticed her daughter and turned her head to towards her. 

_What happened to her eye?_ Fareeha thought to herself, now that she could see the eye-patch her mother wore.

Ana smiled. She excused herself from speaking to Angela and approached Fareeha. Her eye glistened.

“Mother,” Fareeha managed to say something even though her mouth felt drier than the desert outside. She tried to keep her emotions in check as much as possible. Considering the circumstances, everyone needed her as level-headed as possible.

Still, she couldn't deny how relieved she felt that this reunion was finally happening.

“My Fareeha. Oh, I've so missed you,” Ana replied in Arabic; a tear streaked down her left cheek. She moved closer to Fareeha and looked up underneath her helmet before lightly tapping her right index finger against the side of the visor. “Are you going to take that off? I want to see your face properly.”

“Yes.” Fareeha chuckled awkwardly and reached up to undo the fastenings on her helmet. As she pulled it off her head, she heard a loud voice with a British accent call out from the front of the room.

“Oi, luvs!” Lena waved from the doorway and then suddenly disappeared. Within a split second's time, she stood next to Angela. Fareeha heard of her ability to teleport at the blink of an eye but never saw it in action. 

“Dr. Ziegler! I'm so glad you're safe.” The bubbly woman pulled the doctor in for a one-armed hug before blinking over to Fareeha. “You must be Fareeha, I haven't seen you in years. You....”

“Lena,” Angela interrupted. “Why don't you join me outside so we can give them some time to talk.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Lena replied sheepishly; her hand rubbed around the circumference of the blue glowing sphere worn on her chest. If Fareeha remembered correctly, that device gave her the ability to hop through space and time, while keeping her grounded in the present.

Time was something that wasn't on their side right now. 

“No, we don't have time. Torbjörn and Bastion still need us,” Fareeha replied sternly. She looked at Ana, “We can talk after they're safe.”

The mission had to come first as lives depended on them. Seeing her mother again gave her confidence that the two could work things out...but later. Still, taking these first steps lifted a huge weight off of Fareeha's chest. 

Ana smiled, “I agree with Fareeha. This isn't the right time. Jack should also be here soon.”

“He's here now,” a gruff voice alerted them to the presence of another occupant. Fareeha saw a red-visored, white-haired man standing in one of the open side doors of the warehouse. He matched the description of the suspect in the theft of various weapons and technology from former Overwatch facilities; ones that HSI guarded under contract. She never had a run in with the man herself but heard stories from co-workers about his exceptional combat prowess. It now made sense—only someone like Jack Morrison could give Helix guards such a hard time.

“Jack! I'm glad you managed to survive without me all this time,” Ana walked over to greet him, patting him on the shoulder.

“It was only a few weeks, Ana,” he replied dryly.

Ana laughed, “Well, someone needs to remind you to sleep every once in awhile.”

“Commander Morrison!” Lena cried out before blinking over to the man. They shook hands and the young woman immediately hit him with a slew of questions, most he was reluctant to answer. Angela remained standing near Fareeha, watching the three of them talk among themselves. She looked a bit dumbfounded—like she really couldn't believe Jack was still alive. Fareeha could relate...

The past hour had been like that for her. She planned on writing some boring logistics report that night—never in her wildest dreams would she imagine spending it like this instead.

Awkward reunion with her mother? Fighting Talon? Jack back from the dead? Fareeha had to admit; still better than paperwork. The only part she hated was the uncertainty with Torbjörn and Bastion. Hopefully their impromptu strike team could save them in time.

Jack finally approached both Angela and Fareeha, greeting them both with an awkward smile and a handshake. 

Angela nodded and smiled back at her former Strike-Commander, “It's good to see you again, Jack.”

Jack tried to make a bit of small-talk with Fareeha, asking her a few generic questions about HSI and her position with them but the conversation fizzled out quickly and they decided to get on with their business.

“Gabriel requested I meet with him to negotiate the release of two ex-Overwatch hostages, Torbjörn and Angela. His agents even sent a few pictures of the hostages, guaranteeing they were alive. They must have took these before you escaped, Angela.” The doctor nodded her head. Jack continued, “It's a trap, no doubt.”

“Torbjörn won't be with them,” Angela stated with conviction. “I overheard Reyes claim that Talon planned for both Torbjörn and I to join their ranks. He had no intention of letting us go. Torbjörn and Bastion will likely be left behind at their base.”

“Attacking the base will be tricky but you said their forces were thin?”

Angela nodded. “From what I could tell.”

“We could trigger the trap,” Fareeha spoke next. “Fight Gab...er, Reaper and his people first, away from the base. They'll be divided this way.”

“He won't be easy to take on,” Jack replied wearily. “But that seems like our best option since Angela isn't sure exactly where the base is anyway. Or if the others are even being held there.” 

“Plus, attacking the base first would just draw Reyes and his team to reinforce and ambush us from behind,” Fareeha added. 

“I'm worried that Amélie is with them. We won't know she's lurking in the shadows—until she shoots one of us” Ana added with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Amélie?” Fareeha asked.

“Widowmaker,” Lena spat the name out.

“I refuse to call either her or Gabriel by their cartoon villain name,” Ana replied. “Fareeha, do you remember Gérard's wife, Amélie?”

“Yeah, but she's dead..or was. Wait. Nevermind, I shouldn't be surprised anymore.”

“You'll be surprised when she snipes you out of the air. You're staying grounded until I confirm her whereabouts.”

“We haven't seen each other in years and I'm grounded already?” Fareeha asked dryly.

“That's for ignoring my messages,” Ana quipped. “I meant it literally. You'd make an easy target in the air.” 

Since becoming a Raptora pilot, Fareeha hated the idea of her feet ever having to touch the ground during a battle. The risk of a sniper shooting her down? Not worth it, though. She would heed her mother's warning.

Ana continued, “Lena, your job will be to seek out Amélie and keep her busy. I've heard you're good at that.”

“Wait. I just remembered. She's not here,” Angela jumped in. “I overheard Reaper and Sombra speaking to Widowmaker over holo. She's apparently in Russia.”

“Good. We don't have to plan around Widowmaker, then,” Jack added. “I didn't want to fight both her and Gabriel. This 'Sombra' is a bit of a wildcard. I don't know anything about her.”

They further solidified their plan for the next ten minutes before leaving the warehouse. At some point, Jack would go ahead “alone” while the others waited nearby. Hopefully, Reaper would only show with a small force that they could take out easily. He was tough to deal with himself but couldn't face all five of them. 

Then, they figure out how to find Torbjörn and Bastion.

* * *

As the group neared the meeting point, Jack split off and went ahead alone. Fareeha and the others remained at a distance to await his signal to attack. Ana scouted the area with her scope and counted a small number of Talon agents with Reaper. She watched Jack approach and signaled with her hand to the others when he engaged. Fareeha's muscles tensed with excitement, anticipating combat soon. 

Very soon. She doubted the meeting would be anything approaching amicable.

Of course, she was right. 

Jack gave the signal over comms as she heard gunfire off in the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mom firing off a few shots. Knowing her, she probably dropped a few Talon soldiers already. Reaper was the real threat but Jack would keep him busy until Angela, Lena, and herself provided backup. 

Fareeha looked over at Angela, making brief eye contact. The doctor looked troubled.

“Let's go,” she called out to Angela and Lena. Fareeha led the attack charge in the air while Angela followed her. She flew closer to the ground at first, in case they had a sniper, but jetted higher into the air when confident they didn't have one.

Lena zipped around the outskirts of the meeting area to attempt a flank. Ana remained in her sniper spot to pick off any reinforcements. From what Fareeha gathered, her mom already took out most of the Talon forces with Reaper. After all this time, Ana's sniping ability still amazed her—and having only one eye now didn't seem to slow her down. Fareeha might not act like it around others, but she's always proud to be Ana's daughter.

As they flew towards the scene of the battle, Fareeha finally got her first glimpse of the infamous “Reaper”. The man wore a heavy black trenchcoat and a white mask. _Probably to scare people,_ , Fareeha thought. She wondered how Jack and her mom knew this man was Gabriel Reyes in the first place.

Fareeha fired off a few missiles from her rocket launcher and dispatched most of the remaining Talon agents that scattered after the attack begun. Lena picked off the rest. Reaper forced Jack to duel him from behind a nearby water silo where they'd both be out of Ana's sight. Fareeha approached the two men on foot with Lena while Angela remained a reasonable distance behind, pistol at the ready.

“I see you still need others to help do your dirty work, Jack!” Reaper barked when he saw the two woman walking towards them from behind Jack. His voice did sound like Gabriel's but altered. His fists were clenched at his side. Fareeha looked for a weapon on the man but didn't see any.

“You think you're any better?” Jack retorted. He held out his assault rifle in front of him, trained on Reaper's upper-torso. 

“We leaked the intel about the Talon lab facility hoping you'd investigate. It was a trap just for you. But you pawned that off on Ana—just like old times. Now you're the reason all these people are in danger.”

“Stop blaming me or Ana for your choices and your mistakes, Gabriel. You're to blame for putting them in danger. Now, you're outnumbered. Surrender!”

Reaper laughed sinisterly, a disturbing sound when coming through his mask. Finally, he looked over at Fareeha and Lena. 

“Them? The annoying pest and a Helix grunt?”

“The 'Helix grunt' is Fareeha. She knows what you've become.”

An angry growl erupted from Reaper's throat, “What I've become? You did this to me, Jack!” He suddenly moved toward Fareeha with his coat billowing out around his thighs.

“Kid, go back to your mom. This is between me and Overwatch. Us.” He motioned an armored clawed hand towards Jack. Fareeha heard more of the old Gabriel in Reaper's voice when he spoke to her. Regardless, she knew he was a different man now. A traitor. She had been restraining her anger so far but the cork on that finally popped.

“Fuck you, Gabriel. You're with Talon? Why? You're a fucking terrorist. I don't want to hear you're rationalizations for it either!”

“You don't understand.” 

Fareeha stepped closer to Reaper. She felt the raging fires of anger and disappointment surge through her, “I understand you're a fucking coward. Does Jesse know about this? What you've become? Or does he still thinks you died a hero.” She added a few choice words in Arabic at the end of the last sentence. 

“Don't you dare tell me...” 

Shots from an automatic rifle cut their shouting match short. Jack opened fire on Reaper with a few small bursts. A few bullets hit Reaper before he suddenly turned into a black mist. Fareeha watched in disbelief as the mist slowly moved towards Jack until it was right in front of him. Before she could act, Reaper materialized and pulled a pair of shotguns from his coat. He aimed at Jack and fired. Luckily, the old Strike-Commander was still quick on his toes and dodged the point blank shots by crouching low and rolling past the larger man.

Lena sprung to action and fired off a round of her pulse pistols into Reaper's back. The damage didn't seem to phase him and he spun around to shoot at the woman. He missed; she had already blinked behind him. Fareeha quickly took to the air to give herself the height advantage with Angela flying up to join her. 

The odds were against Reaper and he knew it. He shot at the water silo a few times, causing water to rush out all over Lena and Jack. While Fareeha tried to maneuver herself further away from the silo, he tossed a device at her and Angela. 

A smoke bomb. Fareeha lost sight of Reaper and flew laterally to escape the smoke's radius. Unfortunately, the Raptora suit didn't move very fast in that direction but eventually she could see the ground around the silo. 

Reaper was nowhere in sight. 

Suddenly, Fareeha spotted a black helicopter slowly ascending not too far from their location. She was sure Reaper was in it. She needed to follow him.

“Wait here. I'll follow him. Hopefully he'll lead me to the captives.”

“No, it's too dangerous for you to follow him alone,” Angela protested. 

“I agree with Angela,” Jack added wearily. He was soaking wet from all the water released from the silo.

“Same here. We should go together,” Lena added while grabbing at the glowing blue device on her chest, as if to ensure it was still there. Fareeha noticed she remained completely dry, unlike Jack. Odd, considering the water washed over her as well as him.

“I'm the only chance we have to keep up with him. I have to go. I'll send you my coordinates when I near their base and you can follow in your truck.” Fareeha fired up the engines on her suit and shot off into the air towards the helicopter before anyone could argue further.

* * *

Fareeha trailed the Talon helicopter from a safe distance—hopefully far enough they didn't spot her. It was now nighttime and the nearly full moon shone upon the desert sands, forming a background for the helicopter's silhouette. 

“Fareeha? Do you read me?” She heard her mother's voice call her name through her helmet. She slowed in order to hear her better.

“Read you loud and clear.”

Ana hesitated for a few seconds before she spoke again, “I just wanted to tell you. Be careful. Gabriel is very dangerous and unpredictable. We're in the ATV and homing in on your signal and we should be there to back you up soon.”

“I'll be careful. But if I fail...mum, I just want to say...”

“Don't say that. You won't fail, _ḥabībti_.”

Fareeha's throat tightened, “Just in case. I love you.” She wanted to say more but the words choked at the back of her mouth.

Ana chuckled in a manner that betrayed her emotions, “You're going to make me cry in front of the others. I love you too, my Fareeha, and I'm so proud of you. We will be there soon, I promise.” She closed the communication line and Fareeha noticed the helicopter start to descend. She also spotted a small building surrounded with a chain-link fence. It matched Angela's description of the base where Talon held her hostage. Hopefully Torbjörn and Bastion were in there and alive.

The helicopter landed near the back of the building and two figures quickly exited. One was Reaper—Fareeha couldn't make out who else was with him before they both disappeared into the building. She decided to cause a distraction and destroy the get-away vehicle. She popped open one of the compartments on her wrist and fired a rocket at the helicopter. It quickly became engulfed in flames. Fareeha landed and waited, positioning herself low to the ground. Soon, she heard yelling from the building. 

Talon got her message. 

Fareeha activated her thrusters and shot up into the air again. Four hostiles registered in her helmet's sensor device. Surprisingly, they failed to scatter and look for cover when she closed in on them. The Raptora suit isn't exactly quiet so they should have heard her coming. In fact, they moved rather sluggishly. That was different—Talon agents never acted like this before. Still, they were a threat. Flying closer to them, she fired off a volley of rockets, killing the Talon agents. 

Fareeha touched down and cautiously walked over to the building to look for an entrance. No sign of Reaper yet. Either way, her goal was to extract Torbjörn and Bastion and get the hell out of there. She reached a large set of doors that likely to lead to a garage area. Standing at a safe distance, she fired a rocket to destroy these doors and create an opening to the base. 

_A rocket could solve so many problems_ , she thought to herself and then remembered suggesting that Angela should add a few to her Valkyrie suit. Was that...yesterday she told her that? Or was it earlier today? These past few days started blurring together in her mind.

Inside the building, Fareeha pulled out her side-arm. She holstered her rocket launcher onto her back—for now. Scanning the large garage area with her helmet sensor, no life signs detected in her immediate vicinity but she picked up a few readings further into the base. She exited the room into a long hallway, approaching the IR signatures shown in her helmet's display. The hall was dark and a bit spooky with leaky pipes running along the ceiling. It looked like a scene out of an old horror movie she used to watch with Gabriel when she was younger. 

Speaking of Gabriel...

Where was he? Or...anyone? She figured Talon would have thrown her a welcome party by now. The only life signs came from then end of the hallway, off to the left. She reached a locked door leading into a room. Hopefully, Torbjörn and Bastion were inside. The omnic wouldn't show up on her sensors so she figured at least Torbjörn was in there—or a Talon operative, if she was unlucky. 

_It's more like, they'd be unlucky_. 

Fareeha attempted to override the computerized locking mechanism on the door with some passwords the HSI cyber-sec team had collected from Talon recently. Nothing worked. Time to try kicking the door down. After a few hard kicks, the door budged. More kicks and it finally broke of its hinges. The building was really old so, not surprising, it fell away so easily.

The first thing Fareeha noticed in the room, against the wall across from her, was Bastion standing upright behind some type of force-field. The omnic waved at her when she took a few steps into the room. Ganymede wasn't with it; the poor bird probably got scared and took off when Talon ambushed them. It was sad to think they might never find him. The room was large but not big as the garage. It looked like a storage room. Supply crates filled up most of the left side of the room.

“Whooosethere?” a low, groggy voice called out to her from somewhere on the right side of the room. Fareeha looked down and saw Torbjörn tied up on the floor. He appeared unharmed. She rushed over to his side and knelt down before him.

“Torbjörn, it's me, Fareeha. I'm going to get you two out of here. We need to move quick. Reaper is around here somewhere but I haven't seen him. What happened to you?”

“Ah, sleeping gas. I don't know what they did to Bastion,” Torbjörn still sounded sleepy. Fareeha looked over towards Bastion's cage and spotted a large computer and monitor on the left side. It probably controlled the force-field. She could shut it down from there and free the omnic. 

“We'll find a way to get Bastion out. First,” she reached behind Torbjörn's back and undid the bindings around his arms, then moved down to remove them from his legs. “Can you walk?”

Fareeha helped Torbjörn stand up. He took a few steps towards Bastion's cage—a little shaky at first but he managed fine. 

“I'm fine, Fareeha, thanks. My equipment should be around here somewhere.” Torbjörn walked over to some of the supply crates and found the bag with his belongings and weapons resting on top of one.

Fareeha made her way over to Bastion's cage but stopped dead in her tracks when she spied movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a black mist the size and shape of a person in the center of the room. It grew less and less opaque until finally taking the form of Reaper.

“Where do you think you're going, old man?” he growled, pulling the pair of shotguns from his coat and pointed them down at Torbjörn. The smaller man aimed his own weapon recently retrieved from his supply bag.

“I'm getting the hell out of here, that's where I'm going.”

“He's coming with me, Gabriel,” Fareeha took a few steps closer to both men, raising her own weapon. 

“I told you to stay out of this,” Reaper barked at her. “You should leave.” 

“Just let me take them and I will. This thing between you and Jack, whatever happened. They had nothing to do with it.”

“You shouldn't get involved with them, Fareeha. Stay away from Overwatch. From Jack. They'll just use you.” In one quick motion, he kicked Torbjörn's weapon out of his hand, leaving the man unarmed and vulnerable. Fareeha charged towards Reaper, trying to push him away from Torbjörn before he could line up a fatal shotgun blast. Just a second away from her shoulder connecting against Reaper, he vanished into a thin black mist. 

Fareeha lost her balance and crashed into a few of the supply crates. Reaper regained his tangible form behind Torbjörn then swiftly grabbed the shorter man by his shoulders and pushed him down hard onto the floor. He bent over his former colleague, a shotgun trained on his head. 

“One more off the list. I wanted it to be Jack but you'll do.” Before he could pull the trigger, Fareeha shot her pistol into his chest. His body jerked each bullet but he didn't cry out in pain. She fired a few more shots at him as he left Torbjörn's side and walked towards her. They didn't seem to faze him at all. 

As Reaper neared, Fareeha tried to melee him but he quickly turned into the black mist. She stumbled forward a few feet, almost losing her balance again. She really hated when he did that and needed to adapt her combat strategy. As she caught her balance, Reaper materialized behind her and grabbed both her arms, pinning her against a nearby wall, next to the force-field's computer. 

“Do you want to see what they did to me, Fareeha?” His white face mask was inches away from her face plate. 

“Does it matter now? It won't justify this! It won't justify you becoming a murderer!” Fareeha shouted. 

Reaper growled and ripped off his mask. His eyes were a cloudy white color and sunken into his head—his skin stretched tight over his face with a tone much paler than she remembered. The worst part, his face kept changing like the man was slowly rotting away before her eyes. He looked like a corpse. Being this close to him, she felt herself grow weaker as if he sucked the life out of her—an aura of death surrounded him. Fareeha was horrified but couldn't rip her eyes away from his face.

Moments passed before his skin tone darkened to a more healthy shade. She could now clearly distinguish the pupils and brown iris in his eyes. 

“What's happening to you? You were rotting away and dying but then not...”

“I can't die. Just feel pain.”

“You need help. Angela might know...”

He didn't reply but tossed her towards a pile of broken supply crates.

Reaper growled, “No. Not the doctor. She's one of Jack's people.”

“What does that...” she stopped short out of fear, suddenly realizing she dropped her gun. Not like it was much use against him. She was still armed to the teeth, of course, but firing a rocket in here would be dangerous for all of them.

Reaper set his sights on Torbjörn again, who laid on the floor, clutching his right leg. Fareeha had to do something to get Reaper away from him. She still had a concussive blast equipped in the right forearm on her suit.

She fired it in the back left corner of the room, near the computer next to Bastion's cage. Thankfully, it did what she intended. The computer blew apart into a bunch of pieces from the impact. This also dropped the force-field, releasing the omnic. This obviously distracted Reaper and he turned towards the source of the noise. He spotted the Bastion and stood to face it, shotguns ready to fire.

“Fareeha, duck!” Torbjörn yelled at her from his spot low against the floor. He covered his head with both his hands 

Fareeha hit the ground quick knowing what was about to happen. She lifted her head just enough to get a glimpse of Bastion reconfiguring itself into a sentry turret. It fired a blaring round at Reaper from its large gatling gun. He must have anticipated this attack since he had already turned into a black mist and started moving towards the exit. Even if he couldn't die as he claimed, he can feel pain and no one wants to feel that kind of pain. 

About a minute after Reaper fled, Bastion returned to its regular form. Fareeha pushed herself up from off the ground and walked over to Torbjörn. He still grabbed at his leg.

“I'm dying, Fareeha,” he sounded very weak. “I don't know what he did to me.”

“You look fine, Torbjörn,” she knelt down next to him. “I see no wound. No blood.”

“If I die, tell my wife and kids I love 'em,” he whimpered as he continued to clutch at the leg. Fareeha considered his leg might be broken even if it didn't look like it. He sure as hell wasn't going to die from it. This whole scene would be touching except for the fact he looked completely fine. Hopefully Angela and the others would arrive soon and she could take a look at him.

“Angela's coming. She'll make sure you don't die.”

“It'll be too late.”

Fareeha shook her head, confused. Then, she remembered how it felt when Reaper pinned her against the wall. She felt death. Torbjörn must be feeling the lingering affects of Reaper's aura or whatever you'd call it.

“Reaper did something to you to make you _think_ you're dying. I think you'll be fine Torbjörn, trust me,” she smiled to reassure him.

He didn't get a chance to respond. Fareeha heard Lena yell out from behind her, “They're in here!” She blinked beside them and rubbed her nose, “Are you two alright?”

“We're fine,” Fareeha replied. 

“Aye, Fareeha. We were so worried about you but I'm glad you're safe. And you, Torbjörn!”

He didn't answer the young woman and simply grunted.

“Don't forget Bastion. It helped us fight off Reaper,” Fareeha replied.

She faced the omnic and saluted, “Well done, Bastion!” Bastion made a small chirping noise. It sounded content.

Angela finally entered the room and immediately rushed over to the Fareeha and Torbjörn.

“Does he have any injuries?”

“Maybe a broken leg,” Fareeha answered.

“How are you doing?” Angela looked at Fareeha with concern.

“I'm uninjured, if that's what you're asking.”

“Hey, I'm the one dying down here!” Torbjörn called up to them.

Angela's eyes scanned his body. “You'll live.” She ran her hands over his injured leg. “It's not broken. I bet it's those cramps you refuse to see anyone about,” she lectured.

“Bah,” Torbjörn didn't have much of an argument.

“I'll carry him out to the ATV,” Fareeha stated and lifted Torbjörn up off the ground. He didn't protest, to her surprise. She carried him down the hall and out the main door. Outside, Ana waited near the vehicle with Jack. Her mother smiled brightly at her.

“I told you I'd rescue him,” Fareeha laid Torbjörn down gently into the hatchback in the rear of the ATV.

“See, old man. My daughter came to your rescue. I'm not such a bad mother after all,” Ana smirked as Torbjörn looked up at her from the back of the vehicle.

“I never said you were,” Torbjörn replied.

“Maybe _implied_ is a better word,” Ana corrected.

“I just said I was a better parent than you were. Which is true.”

“He's got you there,” Fareeha teased.

“My suit is sensing a few nearby life signs but they are in critical condition,” Angela cut in from behind them. She pointed towards the landing area where the now smoking corpse of a Talon helicopter rested. Someone must have put the fire out—her mom and Jack most likely. 

Fareeha knew a thing or two about how Angela's suit worked. On a battlefield, it helped her seek out soldiers most in need of medical attention, locking them as a target so she could fly to their aid as quickly as possible. The sensory system on her suit must be picking up some of the Talon soldiers Fareeha fought earlier. If they still lived, it seemed cruel to let them slowly die.

“Those would be the Talon soldiers I fought when I first arrived,” Fareeha explained.

“Leave them. We need to get out of here in case reinforcements arrive,” Jack ordered.

“I'm not going to leave them die out here, Jack,” Angela replied, her voice irritated. “Need I remind you that you're not in charge here?” 

“She's right.” Fareeha added her support for Angela's plan. “I doubt Talon will want to try us again anytime soon.”

“Do they even deserve it?” Jack asked.

“I'm not going to be the judge of that,” Angela replied sharply.

“I'll assist Angela and restrain the ones she can save. I'll turn them over to Helix,” Fareeha explained.

“See, Jack, when you fake your death you don't get to be in charge anymore,” Ana joked. 

Lena laughed while Jack just shrugged and joined the others near the ATV. 

Fareeha put some space in between her and the others so she could safely activate her suit thrusters, propelling herself into the air. By now, she knew Angela would follow without having to ask her first. They both flew towards the ruined helicopter. Angela stayed with Fareeha until they were in range of one of the dying Talon soldiers. She glided directly towards him laying in the desert sand, meters from the helicopter. Fareeha landed near them and saw Angela using her staff to administer a healing stream to the fallen Talon soldier.

“Thank you for helping me,” Angela finally spoke after Fareeha watched her work in silence for a few minutes. “Something's not right with them and they don't deserve to die like this. My theory is that they're victims of brainwashing. My preliminary investigations into that research data we found confirm that Talon has the technology. The one who freed me from this base showed the signs as well.”

“When I fought this group, I also noticed they were acting strange.” Fareeha felt guilt knowing she was the on who hurt these soldiers.

Angela sighed, “What a waste.” 

She managed to save two of the four Talon agents. The others were dead when they arrived. One of the survivors would lose their left arm, unfortunately. The two agents rested in the sand unconscious from an anesthesia Angela administered. Fareeha restrained their legs using a small device that creates restraints made from hard light technology. 

When finished, Fareeha and Angela returned to the others. 

“I'm going to contact HSI so they can come out and extract these two,” she pointed back towards the Talon soldiers with her right thumb. “You shouldn't be here when they arrive. Half of you are supposed to be dead—or wanted by the law.” 

“Affirmative,” Jack replied.

Ana approached Fareeha and rested a hand against her armored shoulder. “I am proud of, Fareeha. Torbjörn would have died if it wasn't for you.” She smiled before looking towards the others near the ATV, “I'm staying here with Jack for a few weeks.” She turned to face Fareeha again, “I was hoping to get a chance to speak with you sometime in the next few days. Is your place fine?”

Fareeha smiled, “Yes, I'd like that.”

“Good, I admit I'm nosy and want to see how you're living. You plan to wait out here until Helix arrives?”

Fareeha chuckled, “Yes. Then I'll go back to base and get chewed out by my superiors. It should be an _interesting_ night.”

“Hmph, just nod and tell them what they want to hear. It always worked for me. Right, Jack?”

Jack finally smiled, “Well, you weren't the only one who did that, Ana.”

Ana's face grew serious as addressed Fareeha again, “I don't like the idea of you out here alone. Even if it's only a short time.”

“Don't worry about me, mum.”

“I can stay with her,” Angela interjected. “I'm neither dead nor a wanted criminal. I also want to continue monitoring these Talon soldiers.”

Ana replied, “Lena is flying back to Gibraltar as soon as we make it to the safehouse. You'll miss the trip back.”

“I can catch a flight tomorrow,” Angela stated. 

“From Cairo International? I hate that place,” Ana replied with disdain.

“Yes,” Angela answered. “What's wrong with it?”

“Nothing, really,” Fareeha jumped in before her mother had a chance to say anything. “They just lost her luggage once. Trust me, you don't want to get her started with that story.”

“I'll tell you about it later, Angela,” Ana added.

Angela cleared her throat, “Well, I hate to ask you again, Fareeha, but do you mind if I stay with you one more night?”

“You know I don't mind.”

“Alright, that's settled,” Ana said to them before turning to face Torbjörn, who was now sitting up in the back of the vehicle. “Looks like it will be just you and Oxton on the trip back, Torbjörn!”

Torbjörn laid down again, placing his mechanical arm over his forehead, “Why are you doing this to me, Ana?”

“Aw, come on. It'll be fun,” Lena encouraged him in that cheerful tone of hers. “Just you and me. We can catch up. Bastion will be with us too, right?”

“Yeah,” Torbjörn grunted. “You can bother it.”

Bastion replied with a _woop deeerree oooop_ noise and Lena giggled. Everyone else said their goodbyes before they all left in the ATV. After the vehicle was out of sight, Fareeha and Angela walked over to the unconscious group of Talon soldiers. They watched over them in a comfortable silence for a minute.

“How are you doing, Fareeha?” Angela finally asked. “I can't even imagine how you're feeling after all that's happened today.”

Fareeha shrugged, “I'm not sure how to answer that. I feel better about my mother, at least. How are you feeling?” 

“The same as you. I don't know,” Angela smiled. Fareeha couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked right now under the moon-light; outfitted in her Valkyrie armor with more and more of her hair starting to fall out of her pony-tail. She felt a sudden urge to free the rest of Angela's hair from its tie and run her hands slowly through it, kissing the woman as she... 

No. She had to stop thinking like that.

Instead, Fareeha returned Angela's smile. “One good thing about all this. If Nassar places me on a suspension tonight, which I'm betting he will, I can watch the hockey game. My team's playing in the last game of the semi-finals late tonight. You're welcome to watch the game with me. I still have some alcohol, I think.” 

“I might take that you up on that offer if I can manage to stay awake. I don't know anything about the sport, though.”

“I'll teach you, don't worry.”

A large Helix transport arrived a few minutes later carrying three of the firm's security guards. They saluted Fareeha and assisted her with carrying the bodies to the vehicle. She gave them a brief explanation on what happened between her, Angela, and Talon. No one needed to know about the others. This served as a sort of practice for when she had to give her story to Nassar. Fareeha hopped up into the back compartment of the vehicle with Angela joining her. It took off towards the Helix base, leaving the Talon facility behind them. 

As Fareeha sat in the darkened cargo hold of the transport, her thoughts wandered to Gabriel—not of Reaper, not the broken person whom she fought tonight, but of the man she knew years ago.

* * *

_Twenty-three years ago_

Fareeha tip-toed out the front door of the small apartment she shared with her mother at the Overwatch headquarters in Geneva. Her eyes scanned up and down the dark hallway—no adults in sight. Smiling mischievously to herself, she continued creeping down the passage which would lead her to a lounge shared among the high-ranking members of the organization, who all lived in apartments in this area of the headquarters. It was late and she was supposed to be sleeping but Fareeha felt lonely after her mother left a few hours ago for an emergency mission. No explanation—there never was. Just an, “I love you. See you soon.” and a kiss on the cheek. Tonight, Fareeha couldn't fall back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

As she got closer to the lounge, she saw soft glowing light coming out of the open door and could hear a few different voices. Someone must be watching the really old television in there. She hoped it was Gabriel. He usually let her watch movies with him.

When she reached the lounge entry, Fareeha carefully peeked around the corner of the doorway to get a glimpse of the person in the room. 

_It was Gabriel_! 

She felt so relieved and happy. Good thing it wasn't Jack; he would have sent her back to bed and told her mom about it later. Gabriel sat on a large sofa eating a snack out of a small cardboard box; his face illuminated by the glow from the television screen. He noticed her and waved her over to sit with him.

“Hey kid, can't sleep either?”

“Nope,” she held out her hand and he poured her a few pieces of candy into her palm. She popped them in her mouth. They were chewy and tasted like chocolate and caramel.

“I'm watching an old, scary movie, Fareeha. I think you're a bit too young for it but I can play something else for you.” 

“It's not scary,” she replied with confidence. The movie was definitely really old, though. It was in black and white, even. From what Fareeha could tell, it had zombies in it. Those weren't scary. “It's fake anyway, that's what mum says.”

Gabriel laughed, “If you say so, Fareeha.” They watched the movie together for a half hour. The zombies attacked some old house and the people tried to keep them out. There was a lot of screaming; typical things you see in these types of movies. _So fake._

“Scared yet?” Gabriel asked her. 

“Nope. This isn't scary.” She paused before her next sentence, unsure if she should say anything about what worried her tonight. She decided to go for it, “My mum scares me sometimes.” 

“Why, Fareeha?” Gabriel turned towards her.

“Just when she leaves at night. Like tonight. She looked sad. I hate it.”

“She's only sad she had to leave you,” he spoke softly, his voice soothing and comforting. “There's nothing to be afraid of, Fareeha.”

Fareeha smiled, “Okay. I believe you, Gabriel.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and soon fell asleep without making it to the end of the movie.


	9. Chapter 9

Two days suspension without pay—Fareeha's punishment for defying her superior. Angela tried to help, explaining she was responsible for calling the Captain out to help fight a small group of Talon agents near a remote desert town. Nothing swayed Nassar from his decision. One good thing, he ended up lessening Fareeha's suspension from one week to two days since they brought back a few Talon agents. Talon was one thing she and Nassar always agreed on.

Fareeha and Angela both swapped out of their sand covered battle suits for something more suitable for the trip to Fareeha's apartment. With only about an hour until midnight, she figured Angela would go to bed as soon as they arrived there. She debated with herself whether to take a short nap before the hockey game tonight or to just stay up the whole night to watch it. Due to her suspension, she could mess up her sleep pattern for a day, as long as she got it back on track the next one.

Of course, Angela had no intentions of going to bed early that night. After they arrived at the apartment, the doctor jumped in the shower and then made herself a drink. Fareeha decided to join her in pouring some whiskey because—well, why not? They both deserved it. Similar to the night before, they sat together on the sofa in the living room Fareeha noticed Angela positioned herself closer this time; a sign the woman felt more comfortable around her, perhaps?. It was strange—the two barely spoke to each other until these last few days. Yet, now it almost seemed like they had been closer during the Overwatch days. Maybe it's because people tend to bond over bad things and general weirdness happening to them.

Fareeha enjoyed Angela's company these past few days for many reasons: providing an ear while she opened up about her mother, humoring her by going out to the club a few nights ago and, last but not least, preventing her from going off on Nassar back at the Helix base tonight. He loved being a condescending shit and he knew Fareeha _hated_ that. At one point, she wanted to give him a piece of her mind but remembered Angela was also in the room. She typically wouldn't even consider doing something like that but her encounter with Gabriel put her on edge. Either way, yelling at your boss in front of a new friend was probably not a good idea, so she kept her opinions to herself. 

Did Angela also consider them friends now? She hoped so. Just friends. Except, during the ride home that night, Fareeha realized she _really_ likes Angela. Realistically, she knew it was foolish to expect anything serious to happen between them. Angela was leaving tomorrow and she's probably not looking for that. Fareeha wasn't a moron and could tell the woman found her attractive and probably would sleep with her but nothing else. As tempting as that sounded, she stopped doing the casual sex thing after her mother “died”.

“What are you thinking about, Fareeha?” Angela's gentle voice interrupted her thoughts. 

Fareeha hesitated and took a sip from her whiskey. She didn't want to answer truthfully.

“You don't have to answer,” Angela continued. “I'm sure you have a lot on your mind right now. I can leave you alone if you wanted some privacy or rest.”

“No, I'm okay. Really. There's just a lot to process. Seeing my mum and Jack and...Gabriel again.” She frowned. “I still can't believe he's working for Talon. It's not like him, what changed?”

“I'm not sure myself. Jack might have those answers but he's changed as well, and not for the better.”

“At least he's not aligned with terrorists,” Fareeha sighed. “And my mother? Has she changed? I need to know what to expect when we meet again soon.”

Angela chuckled, “Surprisingly, she's the same Ana for the most part. Not that I'm complaining.”

Fareeha smiled, “At least I'll know what to expect.”

Angela shifted a bit closer to Fareeha and placed her elbow on the back of the couch, “By the way, she sent me a message. Torbjörn, Lena, and Bastion all made it to the transport safely. Oh, and they found Ganymede back at the safehouse. He was looking out the window as if waiting for them or maybe he was standing guard, if you want to look at it that way.”

“I prefer that version. Ganymede, the noble protector.”

“He must take inspiration from you,” Angela smiled and took a drink from her glass of whiskey.

Fareeha felt her face growing hotter. “Maybe so, I could teach him few things.” 

Angela shifted even closer. She tentatively reached her right hand up towards Fareeha's face and tucked some strands of hair behind her left ear. Angela's face drew near and Fareeha's vision swimmed with a pair of stunning, deep blue eyes gazing into her own. 

Closer.

Fareeha froze in disbelief. She now felt Angela's breath on her lips and nose. 

She was going to kiss her. 

Fareeha definitely wasn't going to stop her. 

Angela's lips finally brushed against her own. She slowly let out the breath she held and closed her eyes; losing herself in the sensation of their mouths almost touching, with the Angela's fingers still gently massaging the side of her left face and ear.

Angela closed the distance, lips making solid contact. The kiss was shy at first; unsure of itself, as if it needed permission to exist. Fareeha granted it. She drew Angela closer to return the kiss. gently pulling at the doctor's bottom lip from between her own lips. Angela grew bolder. She leaned in closer and reached past Fareeha with her left arm to set her glass of whiskey down on the small table near the couch. She then wrapped both arms around Fareeha's shoulders and deepened the kiss. It didn't take long before Fareeha felt Angela's tongue seeking out her own. She opened her mouth enough to grant entry and their tongues clashed together. Fareeha moved her hands over Angela's back while they continued with the kiss.

Fareeha lost track of how long they continued but finally, Angela pulled her mouth away and trailed kisses along Fareeha's jawline, ending at her right ear, which she began to nibble on. 

“Are you okay with this?” Angela's husky voice breathed against her ear. Fareeha moaned as the woman's voice sent shivers down her neck that spread out through the rest of her body. She felt arousal during the kiss but Angela breathing against her ear like that managed to crank it up to a whole new level.

“Yes,” Fareeha's voice was shaky but she managed to form a whole word, to her surprise.

“Do you want more?” The question itself was vague but Fareeha knew exactly what she meant. She moved her head back away from Angela's mouth and gently cupped the woman's face so they were now looking at each other. Angela's lidded, bedroom eyes gazed into her own. Fareeha knew she should say 'no' but she wasn't going to, especially after all the shit that happened that day. Plus, Angela looked absolutely irresistible right now.

“Yes, as long as you're okay with it,” Fareeha replied earnestly, eyes locked with Angela's.

Angela giggled and pushed herself off of Fareeha. She stood over her and extended her hand, “Let's continue this in your bedroom.”

Fareeha took Angela's hand and allowed the woman to pull her off the sofa and then lead her into her own bedroom (which, thankfully, wasn't a huge mess). Once inside, Angela grabbed Fareeha's shirt around her stomach and pulled her close. Fareeha bent her head down to kiss her but she held up a finger to stop her as their lips nearly touched.

“Wait, I have a question about...” Angela pulled away and walked over to the dresser against the wall. She picked up something from the top of it. “This!” She spun around to face Fareeha again, holding a little soldier figurine she kept on her dresser. Angela smiled, “This is yours?”

“Um, yes. It was a gift from Tahan's daughter a few years ago. I couldn't reject a present from a little girl, plus,” she grabbed the soldier figure from Angela's hand, “it has a cool looking gun.” Fareeha made a 'pew pew' shooting noise. 

Angela smiled, “I was only curious.” She took the toy soldier from Fareeha and returned it to the dresser, then finally pulled her in for a kiss. It didn't take long for all their clothing to end up on the floor. Not long after that, Angela pushed Fareeha down onto the bed. Usually, she liked to take lead in the bedroom but could sense that Angela wanted to do that tonight. 

Fareeha's eyes admired every part of Angela's toned body as she stood over her. She was simply gorgeous and Fareeha couldn't believe she could finally touch her. She reached out to grab Angela by the hips and pulled her down on top. 

Angela wasted no time working on Fareeha's body. She started on her breasts and nipples—licking, sucking. When satisfied with them, she kissed her way hungrily down Fareeha's toned stomach. The little moans coming from Angela as her mouth worked against her skin; damn, Fareeha couldn't believe believe she was getting so _into it_. Knowing Angela wanted her this badly turned Fareeha on even more. She had to be so wet by now.

“Mmmm...you are soaked,” Angela smiled and looked up at her from between her legs.

Fareeha bit her lip and moaned, “I know. It's all your fault.”

Angela laughed and busied herself with kissing the inside of Fareeha's thighs. After teasing with this for a few minutes, she finally pressed her lips against Fareeha's moist slit, tongue flicking up and down, adding more pressure. Fareeha spread her legs apart further and began stroking Angela's hair. She moaned again when Angela's tongue picked up its tempo. 

When Angela finally attended to her swollen clit, she arched her back, tilting her head against the bed. The warmth pulsing from her groin throughout her body felt amazing. 

Then, she heard Angela moan against her mounds as she continued sucking and licking. Fareeha definitely wouldn't last much longer.

She finally felt the release that can only come with an orgasm. It was pure ecstasy. Now light-headed and all her other senses dulled, her whole body was occupied with that singular sensation. Angela kissed her way up Fareeha's body until they were face to face again.

“I take it you enjoyed that?”

Fareeha chuckled, “What do you think?” Angela just smiled down at her. Fareeha kissed her, eager to return the favor. She couldn't wait to touch Angela more intimately, “Now it's your turn.” She flipped the other woman over so now she was on top. She kissed Angela again, first on the lips, then moving down to nuzzle her neck and jaw-line. “Any preferences?”

Angela moaned, hips writhing against Fareeha's, “Just fuck me.”

Fareeha obliged, inserting her fingers into Angela's damp opening between her legs. She pumped them in and out, finding a nice steady rhythm while making sure to give her clit some attention with her thumb. Angela's moans against her mouth were intoxicating. Too bad it didn't last very long before the woman came undone underneath her, crying out a few words in German when reaching her peak. Fareeha kissed Angela lightly on the forehead while she was recovering from the aftershocks of her orgasm. She then laid beside her, pulling her close. They kissed each other tenderly for a few minutes while their bodies calmed. 

“This isn't quite how I expected to end my last night in Egypt,” Angela was the first to speak. Her head now rested under Fareeha's chin.

“Really? I assumed you planned this for days.”

Angela laughed quietly against her shoulder, “Trust me, I really wanted to avoid something like this. Now, here we are and I can't say I have any regrets. You're fucking gorgeous, by the way.”

“So are you, Angela,” Fareeha whispered against the top of the woman's head. She looked so beautiful resting in her arms with the moonlight shining in from the bedroom window illuminating her body. The silver locket Angela wore around her neck suddenly caught Fareeha's attention again. She noticed it before while they tore off each others clothing. 

“That's a beautiful locket, Angela. Where did you get it?”

“It was a gift from my mother.” She held the locket up in front of Fareeha so she could get a closer look. It was oval shaped with an intricate, flowery pattern along the edges. She opened the locket to reveal a picture of a young man and woman who appeared to be in their twenties. It was a little difficult to see with just the moonlight, but Fareeha assumed these were Angela's parents since the woman looked a lot like her. 

“Your parents?” Fareeha asked.

“Yes. I like to keep them with me at all times.”

“I'm so sorry, Angela.” Fareeha knew Angela lost her parents at an early age but never knew all the details. “Did you have any other family?” She felt kind of like an ass right after she asked this. This was likely something Angela hated talking about.

“No, they all perished in the war as well.” She closed the locket and let it fall to her chest. “I was immediately sent to an orphanage with many other children my age or even younger. You can see why I was so eager to get out of there and go to school.” 

“That must have been hard. I'm sorry for bringing this up.”

Fareeha felt Angela snuggle tighter against her side. 

“Don't be. Let's get some rest.”

She listened to the sound of Angela breathing until she fell asleep.

* * *

The morning sun, shining brightly through the window blinds, woke Fareeha before her alarm went off. With her suspension, she didn't have to be anywhere in particular today. Angela needed a ride to the airport around noon time.

Angela—the woman who now lay beside her under a thin blanket they shared. Her arms wrapped lightly around Fareeha. 

_I hope this wasn't a mistake_ , Fareeha worried. She heard Angela mumble something unintelligible against her. Was she awake or talking in her sleep? Fareeha tried to remain as still as possible, not wanting to stir her. She mentally prepared herself for the inevitable conversation the two would have when Angela did wake up.

Even with the uncertainty, Fareeha felt peaceful laying in bed with Angela, and she nearly fell asleep again. Before she could doze off, Angela finally stirred next to her. The woman took a few moments to wake up and find her bearings before looking up at Fareeha. She smiled, “Good morning.”

Fareeha returned the smile, “Good morning, Angela. Did you sleep well?”

Angela pulled herself closer to Fareeha, “Mmm...yes. I didn't keep you awake, did I?”

“No, I slept very well,” Fareeha replied softly. Angela remained silent and buried her head further against Fareeha's chest. She wondered how often Angela enjoyed this kind of intimate human contact; just cuddling close with another. From what her mother once told her about the woman, she kept to herself most of the time while working for Overwatch. It made sense Angela hungered for these simple touches. 

“Was this okay? What we did last night?” Fareeha asked carefully.

Angela laughed, the sound muffled against Fareeha's chest. “I think it's a bit too late to worry about that now.” she finally added. “It was a fun way to relieve some stress. Nothing to worry about.”

Fareeha forced a laugh to mask the uncertainty she still felt...or was it disappointment? “Right. Nothing to worry about.”

They remained in bed for another half an hour before Fareeha heard Angela's stomach growling. She got out of bed and took a quick shower before making a breakfast for them in her kitchen. Angela also showered and prepared for her flight while Fareeha cooked some eggs. They left for the airport after finishing breakfast to give Angela ample time to catch her flight. 

When they reached the terminal for Angela's flight, Fareeha walked with her to the large sliding glass doors that led to the inside of the airport building. Stopping before the doors, Fareeha pulled Angela close and hugged her tight. They embraced for minutes until Angela moved away. 

“Thank you for letting me stay all of those nights, Fareeha.”

“It was my pleasure,” Fareeha smiled at her. “Just let me know if my mum gives you any trouble.”

Angela laughed, “I will. You should try and visit her someday. I'm sure some of the others would love to see you.”

“I might do that.”

Angela's eyes suddenly grew sad even though she continued smiling, “Goodbye, Fareeha. You'll keep in touch?”

Fareeha nodded, “Of course, Angela. Have a safe trip.”

_Have a safe trip?_ She wanted to say so much more than that.

Angela touched Fareeha's cheek and leaned in to plant a quick kiss on her lips. She then walked to the entrance of the airport, waving before disappearing into the crowd.

Even though they promised to keep in touch, Fareeha knew it would be difficult. Both women were so busy. It was a nice thought that made the 'goodbyes' easier.

Fareeha returned to her car, feeling a bit depressed. She looked at her cell, which showed two new messages. Her first impulse was to hope Angela sent her one; a final goodbye message? 

Nope, nothing but disappointment there.

One message was from Saleh. Apparently, he had to cover her shift today and tomorrow. Oh, he wouldn't be happy. It cut into his vacation. His message was full of sarcastic “thank you's” for giving him more hours and then a request—he wanted Fareeha to stop by the HSI base and unlock her office door. He demanded that she allow him to sit in her big, comfy office chair during these shifts he has to cover.

_He's such a baby_. 

Fareeha replied that she'd be there in about an hour. 

The next message was from her dad. It read, in all caps, “CALL ME WHEN YOU CAN!! TALK ABOUT THE GAME!!!” 

The game? Oh shit, the Canucks' game she forgot to watch last night. Judging by her dad's text message, they must have won. She checked the news on her phone. They won 3-2 in overtime. Damn, she missed a good one. Her dad would get suspicious if she called him without having seen the Canucks play. It was unlike her to miss an important game but what excuse could she give? She hated worrying him by talking about the danger she gets in with her job. She also couldn't tell him about her little “thing” with Angela—the real reason she missed the game anyway. Every time Fareeha mentioned a woman to her dad, he acted as if they were getting married. She decided to stop talking to him about her love life until she planned on actually getting married, which would never happen at her rate. So, she just needed to watch that game before calling him. Simple enough of a solution since she had the whole day off.

She arrived at Helix to find Saleh sitting in his own office, legs propped up on the desk.

“Hey Amari...notice I didn't call you Captain? I'm in charge around here today. I also hate you.”

“I'm sorry, truly.” She suppressed a laugh as she handed him the key card to her office. 

“No, you're not. I heard Nassar was real pissed off at you,” he stood up from his desk and walked towards the doorway of his office.

“You could say that. I'm not going to talk about that here,” Fareeha followed him.

“So, change of subject. You watched the game, right? It was amazing.” 

“I actually didn't get a chance to watch it.”

He looked at her in shock, “Are you serious? Okay, what was her name?”

Fareeha raised an eyebrow, “Who's name? What are you talking about, Saleh?”

“Come on, the only way you'd miss that game is if you were getting laid.”

Saleh could never know how right he was, but she would play along.

“Her name was Ranya,” Fareeha smirked.

Saleh faked a laugh, “Ha ha, funny. She was with me last night.”

“Was she at your place the whole night?”

“Well, no but...just shut up.” 

Fareeha laughed until they reached her office. This simple fit of laughter felt great, like it could wash away all of her concerns. She knew that feeling wouldn't last.

“I still hate you,” Saleh reminded her before he opened the door and disappeared inside.

* * *

Finally home from running errands, Fareeha grabbed a beer and sank into the couch in front of the large holo-monitor in her living room. She turned it on and searched for last night's Canucks game. She felt relaxed for once. Honestly, Fareeha needed a vacation like this and wasn't too upset over the suspension. It would allow her time to think some things over. Like how her mother would be a part of her life again instead of a phantom.

Then there was Jack and Gabriel; both men still alive and both men threatening to tear the world apart over their feud. At first, Fareeha believed Gabriel deserved all the blame but Jack hasn't been exactly trustworthy. Still, Jack isn't running around with Talon. Now with Overwatch active again, who knows if Jack will join them or if he'll remain independent and go after Gabriel alone. 

Fareeha wondered about her own place in a future that included Overwatch. If she was honest with herself, she still wanted to join them one day. Not only was it a dream of hers, but they were in the best position to deal with global threats like Talon. Her potential to make a difference in HSI would always be limited by corporate politics and other bullshit.

However, she just wasn't quite ready to make that leap yet. Too many uncertainties.

And if all this wasn't enough to worry about, Fareeha ended up sleeping with Angela last night. The act itself was absolutely wonderful and she had no regrets. It might be awkward if Angela mentions it to her mother, but Fareeha doubted that would happen. 

She already missed Angela but she needed to stop thinking about her.

Fareeha finished a few beers before the end of the first round of the hockey game. During the intermission, she heard a knock on her apartment door. She answered the door to find her mom standing out in the hallway, wearing an outfit similar to yesterday's—the brown coat, black hood. Ana had pulled the hood tighter around her head, though, probably to hide her face. 

“Are you busy, Fareeha? I was going to message you first to set up a time to meet but I didn't want to wait.” 

Fareeha noticed Ana carried a small, brown basket filled with pretty red, white, and golden flowers. Her mother held it higher so she could see them better.

“I brought these to liven up your apartment. I know wouldn't have bothered decorating much.”

Fareeha took the basket from her mother and stood to the side, “Come in. I was just watching the Canucks game I missed last night.”

“Oh, is this a bad time, Fareeha? I know how serious you take that hockey ball sport of yours.”

Fareeha laughed as she set down the basket of flowers on her kitchen table, “It's just 'hockey', no ball, and I don't mind. The game isn't live so I just paused it.”

“Come here,” Ana motioned towards her, “I want to get a good look at you now that you're out of that armor.” Fareeha stepped forward and Ana placed her hands against her shoulders. 

“You look healthy...a little less muscular since you were in the army. Are you eating right?”

“Yes, I stick to a pretty strict diet.”

“Good,” Ana grabbed Fareeha's chin. “And you're still so beautiful, Fareeha. Might I ask if you have a...”

“No, I'm single.” Fareeha knew her mother would ask about her love life eventually.

“Hmph, I should have guessed since you're here alone drinking beers and watching sports.”

Fareeha smiled, “I'd ask you the same question but I really don't want to know.”

Ana chuckled, “Oh, I have a few stories but I'll keep them to myself since you're not interested.”

Before Fareeha could reply, Ana embraced her in a tight hug. “I've missed you so much, Fareeha. I'm sorry I didn't try to contact you sooner. You don't hate me? You can be honest.”

“No, I don't hate you. I was angry, mum.”

“Are you still angry?”

Fareeha pulled away from her mother so she could look her in the eye, “No but before...I felt abandoned, rejected. What made it worse is that you left not only me but also Overwatch. You just left them after everything! Maybe you don't understand, but they'll always be an important part of me—I grew up with them and their ideals. You rejected them and that part of me. It hurt.”

Ana gently stroked the side of Fareeha's face to wipe away a tear. She didn't even realize she started crying, “I'm sorry, I know how important they were to you, _habibti_. There was just so many problems near the end, before the U.N. intervened. I still regret running from them and I regret hiding my reasons from you for _why_ I left. But, I think it's time I explain everything to you.” 

Ana pointed towards the couch, “Come, why don't we sit down so you can finish watching your game and I'll fill you in after.”

Fareeha wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled, “Alright, but don't talk too much during the game.”

“You'll need to explain to me how the hockey sport works. I don't know a thing about it, except they like to hit each other with sticks.”

“That's pretty close, actually.”

Fareeha made her mother some tea while she grabbed another beer. They sat close to each other on the couch and watched the remaining two rounds of the game, with Ana asking a slew of questions about rules and such. Explaining 'icing' to her mom was a feat in and of itself. Fareeha really wish she could tell her dad about this as he'd find it humorous. But like most people, he thinks his ex is still dead. 

They did manage to talk for hours about the events surrounding Ana's disappearance before she had to leave. In the end, Fareeha was grateful for the surprise visit. Her mother's presence always comforted her in times of need.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to end this story soon, but I decided to keep writing it. I had ideas for another fic that would be a sequel but it's probably easier to add it to this one.
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter (not 5K - 6K words like others) as I ease into the next part.

The plane ride from Cairo to Gibraltar proved uneventful thus far. Angela spent most of the flight trying to distract herself with work—unsuccessfully. She couldn't stop thinking about last night and Fareeha; the way she smelled with a hint of vanilla from the shampoo she used, the way her arms felt wrapped around her, the way she tasted, the sound of her laughter, and the sounds she made while they had sex.

Angela sighed and opened the browser on her laptop in search of a news site to take her mind off the woman. She scrolled down the page until a headline caught her eye.

_Demers goal in OT clutches series win for Canucks._

Demers. The name on the hockey jersey which hung on Fareeha's bedroom wall. She remembered staring at it for a few minutes this morning while cuddling against Fareeha in bed. 

_Well, so much for that_.

Angela suddenly realized Fareeha never got the chance to watch her game. She felt guilty—it was mostly her fault, after all. Her first impulse was to shoot off a quick message to apologize. How do you word something like that?

_Sorry you had to miss the game you really wanted to watch because I wanted to have sex with you. Next time, we'll do it on your couch so you can watch it and fuck me at the same time_.

Would there be a next time? 

Angela tried to imagine taking a plane flight to Cairo whenever she felt _in the mood_. It was bad enough with how much this particular last minute flight cost her. She hated wasting her savings on unnecessary expenses when she'd rather use that money to fund her research or donate some of it to the group of medical relief workers she recently associated with. Between the decent sized inheritance from her parents and a respectable salary from Overwatch, she had amassed quite the savings. 

But, priorities...Angela needed a new centrifuge for her lab and not plane tickets for a booty call. Plus, she was too old to start acting like a teenager with a silly puppy love crush. Her unrelenting drive to be on the forefront of life-saving medical research forced her to skip that phase in her youth. She told herself the chance to experience it had passed.

Angela laughed at herself bitterly. The man sitting in the seat next to her glanced in her direction with a funny expression on his face. She smiled at him reassuringly and removed her phone from her carry on bag and sent a message to Fareeha.

**A. Ziegler** : Thanks again for letting me stay with you, Fareeha. I just realized you missed your game last night. I believe I owe you an apology. 

She waited a few moments for a reply. None came in right away. Five minutes later—still nothing. Feeling pathetic, Angela decided to stop waiting and put her phone away. 

Ten minutes later, she grabbed her phone out again. She checked her messages. None. It was unreasonable to expect a reply right away, she knew that. She still felt disappointed.

Angela started regretting the message. Maybe Fareeha was angry with her? 

_Why would she be? Stop being silly, Angela_.

A few more minutes passed before the new message symbol appeared on her phone screen. She opened the message.

**Fareeha Amari** : No worries, Angela. I'm at home right now watching it with my mother. I have to constantly explain all the rules to her though ;-)

Imagining the two of them bonding over a hockey game of all things made Angela smile.

**A. Ziegler** : I'm glad you two can spend some time together. I'll leave you go. Let me know if you need to talk.

**Fareeha Amari** : Thanks, I might consider it.

Angela returned the phone to her bag and opened up her laptop again. Something was off. A window on the screen showed a large file download in process. She didn't remember starting it. Angela tried closing the window but it resisted. Download process, 87%. 

_Fuck, this is bad_.

A purple skull-shaped symbol briefly flashed across the screen for a second. When it disappeared, a message popped up from an unknown sender.

_Hey, doctor. I know you got some juicy research data to sink your teeth into. That stuff you took from Talon. Just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sending you a bit more in good faith. Give you some interesting reading material for your trip. Also, you owe me for saving your ass. You know what I'm talking about._

_\- a friend_

The download completed and her laptop screen returned to normal. A new folder labeled “A gift” now sat on her home screen. She knew it was a bad idea to open it but...

Angela glanced over at the gentleman sitting next to her on the plane. He was distracted with reading something on his own phone. Against her better judgment, she opened the folder. It contained a combination of files: documents, videos, images. The file names all had one word in common.

_Widowmaker_.

* * *

“Athena confirmed the files are clean,” Winston remarked while pushing his black-framed glasses further up his nose. He sat in front of numerous computer monitors, glowing softly in a dark office in Watchpoint Gibraltar. 

“Excellent. I'll begin sifting through this information right away. I'll upload a summary of my findings to the database And thanks, Athena,” Angela replied, closing her notebook and turning to leave Winston's office.

“You're welcome, Dr. Ziegler,” she heard Athena answer as she left. 

Angela rushed down the long hallway to the doorway leading into her own office area. She was excited and nervous at the same time. The data sent from her “friend” could provide valuable insight into Talon's most elite assassin. From what Angela knew, this “Widowmaker” showed signs of biological engineering, possibly using medical technology similar to what she invented. To begin with, the woman's skin color took on a bluish tint—a sign of bradycardia. How could Widowmaker perform the acrobatic feats she's known for with a dangerously slow heart rate? They must have done something to her to compensate. 

On top of that, Angela now suspected the assassin might be brainwashed in a similar fashion to the Talon agents they fought against recently. Ana almost lost her life to Widowmaker and she believes the woman formerly known as Amélie Lacroix is nothing but a traitor; a sleeper agent who seduced her way into the heart of one of Overwatch's most influential members. Angela didn't know Gérard or his wife Amélie all that well while she served with the organization. She usually kept her distance from everyone back in those days. Ana was really close to the couple, though. It devastated her knowing Amélie likely murdered Gérard.

But what if Ana was wrong? Angela might be on the brink of discovering something more sinister with the origins of Widowmaker; both an exciting and terrifying thought.

After hours of digging, with a few cups of black coffee, she discovered her suspicions proved correct. Amélie was indeed brainwashed, a process Talon started all those years ago when they first abducted her for a few days, until Gérard and his Overwatch team rescued her. From what Angela gathered, Amélie's transformation into Widowmaker was an on-going experiment lasting years; the Talon scientists perfected their cruel art on this woman before forcing it on others. Yet, Widowmaker was far more advanced than a typical Talon soldier, capable of higher level decision making. Angela wasn't quite sure why—maybe because the assassin had longer to adapt to the nano-medical 'treatment' they administered intravenously. 

This 'treatment', what the Talon reports referred to as an _Anosov Restraint_ , consisted of modified nano-machine technology Angela developed as a life saving tool. These particular ones altered brain chemistry, suppressing real memories while creating false ones. They also rendered the victims vulnerable to suggestion. Worse, the injection contained a highly addictive chemical so the person would seek it out by their own will—and this kept them loyal to Talon.

_Despicable_.

The name _Anosov_ seemed familiar to Angela but she couldn't place it at the moment. This person was likely the Talon scientist who developed this technology; correction—stole it from her and bastardized it.

Angela's mood darkened from her discoveries . Feeling exhausted from the plane trip and her research, she decided to retire to her room. 

She almost forgot about last night with Fareeha until someone reminded her.

“Hey Angela, you made it back in one piece, I see,” Jesse McCree called out to her as she walked down the hallway outside her research office. She turned to face the man as he approached from behind her. He tipped his cowboy hat and smiled. Angela was thankful he wasn't smoking a damned cigar. 

“Just barely. We had a close call with Talon,” Angela gave a terse reply. She wanted to keep the conversation short.

Jesse's face looked grim, “Yeah, I heard about Gabe. A shame. He's lucky I wasn't there.”

“That's probably for the best. Fareeha was angry enough and confronted him alone against what I hope was her better judgment.”

“Fareeha, I heard she was with y'all. Haven't talked to her in ages. She doin' alright?”

“Yes, she's doing well for herself. She saved Torbjörn from Gabriel.”

“So I heard,” Jesse smiled. “You behaved yourself around her? I remember how you used to get a little flustered when she came around base to visit her ma' while she was on leave from the army.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Don't be ridiculous. That was years ago. I was a lot younger.” She felt her face heating up and quickly turned away from Jesse to hide the evidence of a blush. 

“I have a lot of work to do tomorrow so I need the rest. Good night, Jesse,” She called back to him as she started walking towards her apartment. 

Jesse chuckled, “Same to you, darlin'.”

* * *

Angela entered her small apartment she shared with Mei-Ling Zhou, Overwatch's famous climatology expert. Honestly, her roommate wasn't around all that much. Mei would often go on expeditions to remote parts of the world in order to gather climate data. This continued even after she joined Overwatch again. Needless to say, Angela was surprised to find Mei sitting at the kitchen table in their apartment, adjusting some of the settings on her spherical weather drone named Snowball. She didn't mind, of course. The two were friends many years ago and Mei usually kept to herself. The woman seemed a bit more distant since a team rescued her from the old Antarctica research station recently. Angela could only imagine how harrowing that whole experience must be for her. 

“Hi, Angela. Welcome back,” Mei greeted her as soon as she closed the door. She placed Snowball on the table and stood up from her chair. “How was your time in Egypt? I'm jealous I didn't get to go. I always wanted to study the Sahara. You know, maybe I'll plan a trip soon.”

Angela smiled, “It was hot. That much I can tell you. I'm glad to be back with my own bed and shower.”

Mei giggled, “Were the accommodations in the old safe house that bad?”

“We never stayed there. I stayed in a over-priced hotel room a few nights and with Ana's daughter, Fareeha, a few others. It was...nice but still not my own bed.” She definitely wasn't going to tell Mei just how “nice” it could be at Fareeha's place. 

“Trust me, I understand completely, Angela. I'll let you get some rest,” Mei replied before returning to the kitchen table and Snowball.

Angela said her good nights and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind. She quickly hopped into her night clothes—an old, corny “World's Best Doctor” t-shirt and a pair of sweats. After laying down in bed, she checked her phone again for messages. She didn't expect another reply from Fareeha but hoped...

Disappointed, she sat the phone down on the small shelf next to her bed. She wanted to speak to Fareeha again; to vent to a sympathetic ear about her discoveries regarding Talon and Widowmaker, at least. In an odd turn of events, she now wanted the woman to help take her mind off of work. But that wouldn't be wise for many reasons. First and foremost, this information should stay with Overwatch. She trusted Fareeha, of course, but didn't want to burden her with this when she has her own troubles.

Also, Angela was unsure when it would be appropriate to contact Fareeha again after last night. There were unspoken rules about this type of thing, right? Well, she didn't know them. Hopefully Fareeha would take the initiative, if she so desired. 

And if she didn't?

Angela tried to push these thoughts from her mind. Her exhaustion finally won and she fell asleep.

* * *

It turned out, Fareeha did take the initiative. 

When Angela woke the next morning, she found a new message from Fareeha, checking in to see how her plane trip went. After sending a few messages back and forth, they both decided it easiest to talk over the phone. Fareeha mostly spoke about Ana and her tragic lack of hockey knowledge. Angela didn't know a damn thing about the sport either but laughed along with her at any rate. They completely avoided talking about the whole “sex thing”. Probably for the best.

Either way, Angela enjoyed hearing Fareeha's voice again. Unfortunately, the call ended too soon as Fareeha had to meet with her superior, Nassar, in about an hour to discuss her next shift. With Fareeha working again, and with her schedule variance, neither of them knew when they would get a chance to speak next. For now, they agreed to keep in touch over text message, as much as possible. 

Later on that same day, Angela received a call from Ana. 

“Winston mentioned you might have some interesting news about Talon. What have you found, Angela?”

“It's mostly about Widowmaker, or Amélie, I should say. It's not good news. Well, there might be a silver-lining. First, she's not a traitor. She was brainwashed but it might not be permanent. They need to continually feed her doses of a mind-altering chemical mixture. Which means, it may be possible to reverse it in her and some of the others. That reminds me, I was hoping the Egyptian authorities would allow me to monitor the Talon agents we captured when they recover from their injuries. They might help shed more light on this. I just...can't even imagine the horrors that poor woman went through. I'm sorry. I know you were friends with her and Gérard.”

Ana replied with sorrow in her voice, “It serves as another reminder why we fight them. Thank you, Angela. I'll read over your report and prepare any questions.”


	11. Chapter 11

Laughter still filled the small comedy club even after the performers exited the stage. Fareeha and Ana quickly sneaked out the back door before any of the other patrons left. They needed to minimize chances of someone recognizing them. Outside, the bright lights of downtown Cairo at nighttime served as a stark contrast to the dark club they just left from.

“That was a pretty good show even if I've never heard of any of these comedians. The last time I saw a show here, I was the butt of a few jokes...Jack and Gabriel as well,” Ana spoke as she adjusted the dark blue scarf wrapped around her head to cover more of her face.

“That must have been years ago. No one jokes about Overwatch anymore. Not even here,” Fareeha replied. She led her mom down the busy sidewalk towards the nearby parking garage to retrieve her car. The bustling crowd allowed them to blend in but Fareeha still worried someone would recognize her mom at anytime. 

“I think it was a year before I...” Ana lowered her voice ..”well, you know. Died.” 

Fareeha chuckled, “Are you truly disappointed people stopped making jokes about you since then?”

Ana laughed, “Yes, I am. I should announce myself to the world again...give them fresh material to use for their routines.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes and smiled over at her mother. Ana moved closer so the two could link arms. They continued onward towards their destination. 

Four months had passed since since Fareeha started speaking to her mother again. The two tried spending as much time together as possible, in spite of Fareeha's work schedule and Ana running between Egypt and Gibraltar for Overwatch. At first, they restricted their quality time to Fareeha's apartment but Ana grew bolder over the last two months or so; she hated hiding from life. Additionally, she wanted to make up for time missed with her daughter—the two barely spent time out together throughout Fareeha's adulthood. Tonight, Ana decided to take a trip down memory lane by visiting her favorite comedy club in Cairo from her youth. While serving in the Egyptian Army, she frequented the place often and knew everyone that worked there by first name.

Fareeha sometimes tried to think of the worse thing that would happen if the world knew Ana Amari yet lived. Would they hate her? In this scenario, she bares the burden of being the sole surviving former leader of the fallen Overwatch organization, with Jack and Gabriel still 'dead'. A lot of people still hold a grudge against them all and blame them for some of the current problems in the world. Or, maybe the world would let her mother retire to a nice, quiet beach in Hawaii. Knowing how things worked, Fareeha was certain it would be the former. Hence, the extra caution when traveling with her mother.

“I used to eat at the restaurants around here after a show. There's a great Lebanese place down that street...or there was,” Ana stated while pointing with her thumb.

“Seems risky. They'll have better lighting than the club,” Fareeha answered.

Ana sighed, “You're right. That doesn't change the fact that I'm starving. It's not my fault you have nothing to eat at your place.”

“Don't worry. I'll order take-out when we get back.”

They finally reached the parking garage and hopped in the first elevator they found empty. As they started the ascent to the fifth level, Fareeha felt her phone vibrate against her left leg. She removed it from her pants pocket to check the notification—a new message from Angela. Receiving a message from the doctor always gave Fareeha little fluttering butterflies in her stomach. It's true that, after a few months, these fluttering butterflies became more subdued. It was no longer a huge question mark as to whether they would keep in touch or not. In recent weeks, contact with Angela lost a unique kind of excitement that only happens early in a relationship but she was no less pleased to receive a message from her. 

Their 'relationship'—well, they still needed to define it. Neither of them brought it up when they spoke and the last time she saw Angela in person was four months ago during her visit with Torbjörn and Bastion. 

Fareeha opened the message.

**A. Ziegler** : Call me later?

Fareeha typed a response quickly as the elevator door opened at their floor.

**Fareeha Amari** : In a few hours. Out with mom now.

**A. Ziegler** : k

Fareeha returned the phone to her pants pocket.

“A friend of yours?” Ana asked, smiling while giving her a playful nudge with her elbow.

“Yeah...a friend,” Fareeha answered. She realized she must have been smiling to herself while reading the text message.

“I wish I could meet these friends of yours. I'd like to hear about what a hard-ass you are.”

_Good. She assumes the message was just from a friend at HSI,_ Fareeha assured herself.

“I have this one friend. She's your biggest fan. I'm serious. She even has your poster in her office,” Fareeha replied while unlocking the doors of her car.

“Don't say that. I really want to meet her, now. Is she good at keeping secrets?”

Fareeha laughed, “Terrible. She has a big mouth.”

* * *

In recent visits, Ana slowly took over Fareeha's quest room for herself. She now even left some her clothing and other belongings there even when she was away. Fortunately, Fareeha rarely if ever had guests over and never found herself needing to explain why her spare room looked lived in. She peeked into the guest room and found her mother sleeping soundly on the bed. A small backpack Ana used to carry necessities sat on a desk along the left side of the wall. A small yellow feather rested in front of the backpack. Ana found it in the room under the bed yesterday. It was Ganymede's from the time he and Bastion and Torbjörn spent the night. Ana decided to keep it for luck since, according to her, he's the “luckiest damn bird who's ever lived”. Fareeha wasn't superstitious herself but couldn't argue with that reasoning. She took one last look at her sleeping mother before quietly closing the door to the guest room.

Time to call Angela.

Fareeha stepped out onto the balcony of her apartment, closing the sliding glass doors behind her, and dialed Angela's number. She tapped her right foot nervously as she waited for an answer. She hoped nothing was wrong.

Angela finally answered after the fifth ring.

“Fareeha, thanks for calling. How was the night out with your mother?” She sounded happy, at least.

“Hi Angela. It was fun. We caught a show at her favorite comedy club but we couldn't stay out too late after that. She has to be careful. So, you seem like you have something to talk about. It's been awhile since we last spoke on the phone.”

_...and I missed hearing your voice._ She sure wanted to add that but didn't know if it would be appropriate.

“I know and I'm sorry. I've been busy trying to convince the psychiatrists at the Behman Hospital to release records on those two Talon agents we captured months ago. On top of that, I'm planning a trip to help out the medical relief organization I still volunteer for. I'm finally leaving here tomorrow. You could say I have some news for you.”

“Is it good or bad news?”

“Good I hope? I'll be in Iraq all of next week. I also received permission from Dr. Essam at Behman to run a few diagnostic procedures on the ex-Talon patients and she'll give me their records—with the requirement I speak with her in person first.” Angela hesitated for a brief moment before continuing. “To make a long story short, I'll be in Cairo for a week after Iraq and well...I wondered if you had any free time and if we could do something. Meet for lunch or dinner? Only if you wanted to, of course.” 

The hint of nervousness in Angela's voice made Fareeha smile. Well, that and the possibility of seeing her again in a week.

“I can make time. I can always make time,” Fareeha answered eagerly. She adjusted her tone, not wanting to sound _too_ eager. “I'm working but it's a whole week and there are times I don't work. So, yeah, dinner works or something.”

_Or something? That really leaves it open._

“Great. I'll be in touch this week and can provide more details. I can't wait. It's been awhile, Fareeha.”

_Yes, it's been four months._ Four months of text messages, usually consisting of a brief comment or greeting and the occasional link to a funny picture or video. For months of phone conversations and venting about their work or talking about people they both know, like Reinhardt or Torbjörn. All this time, they never once discussed what happened between them four months ago. They avoided the question of what they meant _now_ to each other.

Maybe she thought about things too much, but their current situation made Fareeha slightly uncomfortable. What did Angela expect when she visited in a week? Dinner, sex, then a _hey, thanks, talk to you later_? Perhaps it was a bad idea to bring it up now, but Fareeha hoped for a more definite answer tonight to spare her the worry and uncertainty over the next week. 

So she asked the question.

“Angela. I have to know. What are we now? Is this just friends or are we something...more?”

The line was silent for what felt like an eternity as Angela considered her words. When she finally answered, she sounded almost businesslike. “I don't know, Fareeha. Let's talk about this in person when we see each other soon.”

Not the answer Fareeha hoped for but she tried to keep her voice even when replying. “You can't answer now? You must have some feelings about this, Angela.”

“Technically we're just friends as we haven't agreed to anything else. Whether we want that to change is a different question. I assume you're interested in knowing if _I_ want that to change, correct? I already answered that question,” Angela replied in her “bossy doctor” tone. Fareeha usually found it adorable but not now. She felt irritated. How could you not _know_ if you have romantic feelings for someone or not? They've been in contact for four months and even fucking slept together. 

When she decided to ask the question, Fareeha did so with the intent of admitting her own feelings to Angela but pride now got the better of her. Time to drop it and let Angela bring it up next time...if she ever will.

“Fine, forget I asked. It doesn't matter,” she tried not to sound bitter but...

She heard Angela sigh across the line, “You're angry with me.”

“I'm not angry, Angela. I just like knowing where I stand with people. What they expect of me,” Fareeha replied as sincerely as possible. It was the truth; she wasn't angry, just frustrated.

“I don't expect anything from you besides your company. We enjoy each others company, yes? It can be that simple.”

“I don't really do simple, Angela. Look, I need to wake up early tomorrow so I should get to bed. Just let me know your schedule for that week when you get it worked out.”

“I will let you know. I need to go as well. I'm meeting my roommate Mei for dinner shortly.”

“Isn't it a little late for that?”

Angela chuckled, “No, not on our schedules. Mei recently returned from somewhere in Mexico so she's accustomed to that timezone.”

“Okay, I won't keep you then. Good night, Angela.”

“And you, Fareeha. Talk to you soon.”

Fareeha ended the call and ruffled her own hair in frustration. This was the first time she felt worse after speaking with Angela. Usually, her calls left her on a high for the rest of the day. Fareeha yawned. She told Angela the truth—she was exhausted.

* * *

_One night later_

“Saleh, I need some advice. From you. About women,” Fareeha sat down next to Saleh at the bar where he waited to order another drink. It was still relatively early but the club seemed emptier than usual, even for a Wednesday night. 

Tonight was the bi-weekly “night out” for her group of friends at HSI. Hameer took the responsibility of driving them that night so Fareeha drank...a lot. She got off a few hours earlier than the rest of them and got a head start. 

Fareeha took another huge gulp from her bottle of cheap beer imported from some foreign country she forgot the name of. Iceland maybe? Did they make beer there? She realized she didn't know anything about Iceland.

“Whoa, Amari. How much have you had? And why are you asking me for advice? You have way better luck with women,” Saleh replied turning in his bar stool to face her. “Where the hell is the bartender? They're usually quick to serve HSI,” he added while pointing to their employer's logo on his shirt. They both still wore their casual, dark blue uniform from work. 

Fareeha ignored his last comments, “Saleh, you had a girlfriend for months now. I can't do that. When have you known that I did something that? I can't.”

Saleh laughed, “That's because you dump them, Amari.”

“I know that. Tell me something useful.”

“Okay you want advice? Stop dumping them. It's that simple.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes and took another drink, “Ugh, don't say it's simple. Nothing's _simple_.”

“It is simple. It's not rocket science,” he replied. The bartender finally arrived and Saleh ordered a gin and tonic.

“I know rocket science, Saleh. That's easy,” Fareeha replied while peeling off the label from her beer bottle. It had a picture of a mountain on it that reminded her of the ones near her dad's home in Canada.

“Yeah, I forgot you actually understand how our suits work and shit. I never saw you act like this before, Amari. Either you're really drunk or you got women problems.”

“Well, yeah. There's a woman. Just one woman. I like her and we've been talking on and off for a few months. I tried to get a feel for where we stand but she's evasive. So, I didn't dump her, that's not my problem. Thanks for the bad advice.”

Saleh took a sip from his drink and cleared his throat, “Didn't dump her yet. Maybe she's heard of your reputation? Wait, did you sleep with her already? I bet you did.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Most people do that after they start dating,” he smirked.

“Why did I ask you for help again? These are things I know.” Fareeha tapped her chin with her right index finger. Members of the band practicing on stage caught her attention. The one guy had a nice looking guitar. She missed playing...maybe she'd go buy one tomorrow. 

Saleh snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Are you still with me, Amari?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about buying a guitar. I'm sorry, what were you saying?”

“I'll summarize. Okay. Knowing and doing, or not doing in your case, are two different things. And...” He paused and shook his head. “Anyway, I don't think you're listening to this. Do I know her? That would give me a better idea what you're working with.”

“Eh...no, you don't.” Fareeha replied. She turned away from Saleh to wave at the bartender hoping he'd drop the inquiry. More importantly, she needed another beer. She felt great even with her annoyance at Saleh's bad advice about women. 

She had to keep the buzz going. 

“You just don't want to tell me, I get it. I'll find out eventually.”

Fareeha ignored him. The bartender's bushy beard reminded her of someone. She suddenly thought of something genius.

“Wait, speaking of rocket science. I know a guy who knows about that and had a wife for a long time. I should ask him for advice,” Fareeha picked up her phone from the bar counter top and scrolled through her contacts. Angela's name near the top of the list immediately caught her attention.

_Don't do it. You'll regret it tomorrow big time._

_But it would be funny if I..._

_Don't!_

The voice of reason won the battle in her head—or maybe you'd call it the voice of sobriety. Those two usually go hand in hand.

She found Torbjörn's number and sent him a message.

Seconds after she sent it, she couldn't remember what the message said. She opened it up and squinted through slightly blurred vision to read it.

**Fareeha Amari** : torbnjon how u stay marred for years?

“Saleh, does this make sense?” she held up her phone an inch from his face.

He pulled his head back so he could actually read the words. He busted out in laughter, “You asked him how he stayed marred for years. It's gonna be a long night Amari.”

“Shit, I meant married.” Fareeha pulled her phone away from Saleh and sent another message.

**Fareeha Amari** : married sry drunk

“Let me see that,” Saleh grabbed the phone from Fareeha's hand. “Well, you spelled it right and told him you were drunk...I think.”

“I am drunk,” Fareeha replied matter-of-factly. She started folding the label she recently removed from her last beer.

“Yeah, I know. I remember that guy, by the way. Torb...however you pronounce his name. He was wild. Spent so much time building his own Raptora. I definitely remember his blonde doctor friend,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “you still keep in touch with her too? What's her name, Angela, right?”

Fareeha tossed the folded label on the bar counter and took a large swig from her new beer. She wasn't drunk enough for this. No way. 

“No and we aren't talking about her, Saleh.”

Saleh gave her a funny look, “Why? I thought you were friends and...oh wait, no wait. No way, she's the woman you're having a fit over, right?”

Fareeha shook her head. “No. No. She's not. Just, no.” She'd just deny it until he believed her. This all made sense to her in her mind—her alcohol hazed mind.

Saleh cupped his hand over his mouth to try and stifle laughter, “Oh no, you are and you did...you hooked up with her. Holy shit,” he dropped his voice, “...you're sleeping with her?”

“ _Slept_ with her. As in, no longer sleeping with her,” Fareeha's mouth moved faster than her brain. In one swift motion, she set her beer down and covered her mouth with her hand, as if trying to force the words back in. 

_Shit, that slipped out._

Saleh fought back more laughter, “I knew it. I knew there was a thing with her.”

Fareeha composed herself in time to shoot a stern look his way. “Saleh, you better not tell anyone else or you're dead.”

Saleh held both hands up in front of him. “I won't, promise. Hey, Amari, I'm sorry if I'm being an ass. I really don't know what to tell you and it seems like she got you down. Just...ah...don't dump her?”

Fareeha sighed, “You know, I don't like ending things with women like that but it's a lot to ask someone to put up with my lifestyle. My parents didn't work out for that reason.”

Saleh frowned, “Yeah, I know, Amari. It's still worth a try, I think. Ranya still puts up with me. If that doesn't give you hope...”

Fareeha noticed her phone light up with a new message from Torbjörn.

**Torbjörn** : ???????? Are you ok, Fareeha?????

**Fareeha Amari** : y, just drunk

“Shit, I hope he doesn't tell my mum about this,” Fareeha stated as she closed the message on her phone.

_Oh fuck._

Saleh now looked concerned about her. He placed a hand on her right shoulder, “Amari, your mom's dead. Now I'm really starting to worry about you. How much did you drink?”

Fareeha laughed, attempting cover her slip up, “If I'm worried about my dead mother yelling at me for getting drunk, then you could say I probably had too much.”

Before Saleh could respond, another voice cut in to their conversation.

“What the hell is going on over here with you two?” Fareeha turned to see Tahan standing behind them at the bar. She looked kind of blurry. Well, so did Saleh. 

Tahan continued, “Like, what are you laughing at?,” she pointed to Saleh, “Amari was shaking her head like crazy. Did you piss her off? Oh wait, speaking of your mom, I heard you two talking about her...” she now turned to Fareeha, “...there's been these sightings of her in Qalyub. This guy says he saw her but then he turned to get a better look and 'poof'! Gone just like a ghost! I mean, it's all bullshit. Um...sorry, Amari, but uh...remember how people used to see Elvis all the time and shit? Same thing, probably. I don't believe it for a second.”

Fareeha laughed at the comparison between her mom and the long dead rock legend.

Saleh just looked confused, “Wait, who the fuck is Elvis?”

* * *

_One night earlier. Watchpoint Gibraltar._

Fareeha's abrupt ending to the call caught Angela off guard. She tossed her phone down on to her bed and leaned with with her back against the wall. Closing her eyes, she tried to forget about the sudden, uncomfortable turn in their conversation.

Angela cared for Fareeha and needed to see her again soon. Simultaneously, she dreaded the decision Fareeha gave her tonight. This was all new territory for her. She liked the idea of a relationship but hesitated due to the practicalities involved. For starters, they would always be so far apart. And what if something happened to Fareeha? Or to her? Their professions weren't exactly safe. 

For Angela, independence was familiar. She never dated seriously and starting now would affect her life in unpredictable ways.

A knock on her bedroom door startled her. 

“Angela, it's Mei. Are you ready for dinner?”

“Sure, Mei. You can come in,” Angela replied. She continued leaning against the wall.

Mei stepped into her bedroom, wearing a buttoned long-sleeve blouse and a pair of jeans. Her hair was tied up with her usual hair pin. Angela glanced at her own appearance in the mirror and realized she still wore her lab coat.

“I heard you speaking with someone on the phone. Are you busy or do you still have time?”

Angela rubbed her right temple, “No, I'm not busy. The conversation didn't last very long anyway.”

“Are you okay? You seem out of sorts,” Mei asked while taking a seat on Angela's bed, next to where she was still standing near the wall.

“I'm fine, Mei. Why do you ask?” Angela tied her best to sound reassuring.

Mei rubbed her chin, “Well, I've heard you talking to someone on the phone late at night through your door a few times before. And I'm hardly here. I can see the evidence.”

“I gather you've come up with a hypothesis as well?” Angela stopped leaning against the wall and took a few steps towards Mei.

“I have, doctor. You're dating someone but tonight's call with them didn't go so well,” Mei replied, sounding gloomy. She had been in a bad mood for most of the day. Unfortunately, Mei now suffered from occasional nightmares caused by her ordeal in Antarctica. Last night, she had one and Angela comforted her friend until she fell asleep again. This was partially the reason they decided to room together. With Angela nearby, Mei never had to be alone in a room with similar interior design to the Antarctica Watchpoint.

Angela gave her a comforting smile, “You're theory needs a few adjustments but it's not far off the mark. I'll fill you in on a few details over dinner. You're not getting a name, though.”

Mei giggled, “Ooh, why the mystery? Do I know them? Nevermind, you don't have to answer that. Thanks, Angela.” 

Mei's troubles made Angela's own problems with Fareeha seem small. She usually kept her personal life to herself, but talking about it with Mei over dinner might might help improve both of their moods. They discussed their food preferences as they left Angela's room.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't want to update any more since up until now, my word count for this fic was exactly 43,000 words!
> 
> Joking, but it was kind of cool for a week.
> 
> I'm also excited about Doomfist's recent reveal and his connection with HSI. Though Fareeha wasn't stationed at his prison, she'd have feelings about it. I was building up more with Talon in this story so that means I get to add the shiny new character in here. Not this chapter, though.

Angela woke up early the next morning feeling sluggish from a stomach ache. The culprit might be the Chinese food she ate shortly before going to bed or possibly even her nerves from the phone call with Fareeha. Talking to Mei about it last night helped her feel a little better. Angela divulged only minor details about her “secret phone friend” and didn't name her, of course. Mei knew of Fareeha but mostly just as “Ana's daughter”. Not that Angela believed Mei would tell Ana about the “thing” going on between her and her daughter but mouths slipped secrets on accident. She couldn't risk that happening; couldn't risk getting Ana involved with their problems. That would make it worse.

With a disgusted groan, Angela crawled out of bed and made her way to the small bathroom adjacent to her bedroom. She found some medicine in the cabinet and wasted no time taking a dose. Upset stomachs and plane rides never made for a good combination. Her flight to Oasis left in about five hours and she wanted to feel better by then.

Before leaving her room, Angela checked her phone for messages, from Fareeha or from anyone. Honestly, she hoped to see one from Fareeha but wasn't expecting it. 

_No new messages_.

Last night, Mei suggested she send this “mystery woman she talks on the phone with a lot” an apology for the “misunderstanding” during the call. She also suggested Angela give the long-distance romance a chance. Angela took her friend's advice into consideration but still remained unsure of her feelings and felt it best to discuss them with Fareeha in person. Their physical reunion was only about one week away.

Two hours passed while Angela finishing packing and preparing for her flight. She usually traveled light but packed an extra bag this trip since she'd be gone for a week and a half. Unlike her last trip to the Egypt, she made sure to add some nicer outfits for her visit to Behman and her meeting with Fareeha. Angela wanted to make a better impression this time—not that she intended to seduce. If they agreed to just keep things at friendship, she knew that meant no sex. Fareeha struck her as the type that wanted more than casual flings and she respected that. Either way, Angela didn't want to look like some sloppy graduate student who just crawled out from the research lab.

In ten more minutes, Angela felt thirsty. She headed toward the lounge, passing by the open door to Mei's unoccupied room on the way. Her roommate typically woke up early to start her own studies and research. Angela did the same same thing, which is why they hardly saw each other during the day.

In the lounge, Angela saw Lena leaning back in a chair with her feet propped up on the circular table in the middle of the room. She ate a piece of red licorice while busy typing away on her phone.

“Good morning, Lena,” Angela greeted her cheerfully as she walked towards the refrigerator. 

Lena quickly dragged her legs off the table and sat up-right, chair legs scraped loudly against the floor as she scooted closer to the table. 

“Doctor Ziegler, morning to you!”

Angela laughed, “You know, you can call me 'Angela' right?”

“Seems only polite with all your schooling but if you insist, Angela,” Lena giggled after saying her name.

Angela turned her head towards Lena with a half-smirk, “Thanks but I didn't know my name sounded so funny.”

“No, no, luv. It's grand. I'm just not use to saying it.”

Angela grabbed a bottle of water from the top shelf of the refrigerator. “Well, I won't bother you anymore. I feel like I'm interrupting something.”

Lena shook her head, “Jus' sending a few messages to Emily. She's busy at work now anyways. Psh, she works normal hours...nine to five.” Lena giggled. “How do people do that anyway?”

Angela took a drink from her water and sat in a chair next to Lena. “Do you mind if I ask, how you two manage it? Sorry, let me clarify. I know you've been dating Emily for years now. You talked about her when you first joined Overwatch all those years ago.”

Lena nodded her head in agreement but remained silent, anticipating Angela to continue.

“I'm sure you two spent a lot of time together after Overwatch's disbandment but what about now? You hardly see each other. I can only imagine how difficult that must be.”

Lena sighed and adjusted her chronal accelerator's harness while she leaned in a bit closer. “Yeah, it's tough. I miss her all the time. We try to make some kind of contact with each other at least once every day. A phone call if we have time. A quick message saying 'hey'. Anything really. Just to remind the other we're thinking of her and love her.” She laughed. “I know that must sound like rubbish but that's all! Works for us.”

Angela smiled, “No, that sounds wonderful.”

They talked for a few more minutes about Emily before Angela remembered she needed to finish packing. She excused herself and thanked Lena for the conversation.

* * *

_One week later_

The Behman hospital looked so peaceful from Angela's taxi window. The collection of buildings were surrounded by lush gardens and various trees native to the area. No time to admire the scenery. Her purpose was to visit with the patients Fernando Maia and Sandra Collins, former Talon agents. Until very recently, these two had difficulty answering to their real names. While in Talon, they were known only by a series of numbers. 

Angela walked through the front doors of the main building where a tall, mustached man greeted her. He promptly led her to Dr. Essam's office. The woman sat behind a desk in front of a large glass window overlooking an outside courtyard. Papers were piled up in messy stacks on her desk. It reminded Angela of her own work area.

“Dr. Ziegler. Please, come in and have a seat,” Dr. Essam spun around in her chair to face Angela and motioned her hand towards a chair positioned in front of her desk. 

“Thank you, Dr. Essam. I don't want to take up too much of your time,” Angela sat in the chair and removed a datapad from her bag so she could upload patient data.

“I don't mind. It's not every day I get to meet a pioneer in medical nano-technology,” Dr. Essam smiled warmly at Angela. A pair of thick rimmed glasses framed her eyes. Her dark hair was closely-cropped.

Angela returned her smile. “Well, you know that's part of my reason for this visit today. We discussed releasing your medical records for Maia and Collins. I was first respondent when they were captured and you know I'm familiar with their case already. They've both consented to this, correct?”

“Yes, recently. They were in no position to do so before that. Both patients remember you from when they recovered at at Helix. You wished to speak with them, yes?”

“If you don't mind. Or...if they don't mind, I should say.”

Dr. Essam nodded and they left the office together. Angela followed her down the hallway and through a set of double-doors leading into the wing with the patient rooms. The two ex-Talon agents had recovered from all physical injuries. Collins lost her left arm during the fight with Fareeha all those months ago but she received a prosthetic replacement shortly after her capture. 

Both were improving in mental health as well but still had some progress to make before being released to their families. The first challenge for these patients had been dealing with their addiction to the nano-medical cocktail Talon fed them. Angela aided the doctors with this task remotely and together they created a counter-agent to wean the patients off of it. 

Fortunately, neither would be prosecuted for crimes committed while working with Talon considering their circumstances.

Dr. Essam stopped and opened a door to their right.

“This is Mr. Maia's room. He's expecting you.” 

Angela thanked her and entered. The room looked very welcoming and cozy, with brightly colored patterns on the bedding, beautiful paintings of local natural scenery decorating the walls, and plants sitting along the windowsill on the far wall. The young man named Fernando Maia sat at a desk playing a video game.

Fernando was only twenty years old. Free from the mental haze induced by Talon's mind-altering drugs, he now remembered the night a small black van pulled up beside him while he walked down the street late at night in a small town in Portugal. A heavily armored soldier dressed in black stepped out of the vehicle and forced him to follow. He never saw his home again.

Sandra Collins was twenty-three years old; an ex-soldier who served in the United States military. An injury ended her career early and she spent the better part of a year recovering in a veteran's hospital in Denver. Late one night, a nurse she didn't recognize entered her room and led her outside to an awaiting van. She and a two other patients were abducted that night. While visiting Oasis last week, Angela heard stories from colleagues about missing patients from the veteran's hospital located in that city. She hated thinking that Talon abducted them as well but this seemed like the only reasonable explanation.

The more Angela learned about Talon and their methods, the more sickened she felt. 

Fernando smiled when he caught sight of Angela enter his room. 

“Dr. Ziegler, yes?” He rose from his desk to offer his hand. Angela accepted the hand-shake.

“Yes, Fernando. Nice to finally meet you. You don't mind if I ask a few questions?”

He shook his head, “No. Not at all. I remember you. I remember seeing your face. You saved me that night,” Fernando laughed nervously. “I also remember feeling a strong urge to kill you at one point but I'm grateful I was restrained.”

Angela gave the man a reassuring smile, “Well, that makes two of us.”

Fernando's face suddenly looked grim. “It's not just that. I heard your name spoken while with...with them...” he paused. It was obviously difficult for him to talk about Talon and the people responsible for kidnapping him and subjecting him to weeks of painful torture.

“Fernando, you don't have to talk about this if it makes you uncomfortable,” Angela offered calmly.

He nodded but continued anyway, “My 'boss', if you could even call him that, hated you. Called you a fraud.”

This piqued Angela's curiosity. A personal enemy within Talon? Interesting.

“Do you remember anything about this man?” Angela asked gently.

“I never saw his face, really. Just a name... Anosov.”

_Anosov._

The Talon mind control technology was named after this man. He developed it. He used it to control people abducted from the safety of their homes or from hospitals. If true, he probably held a lot of power within Talon. 

And he hated Angela. But who was he? She didn't know him. Or did she?

After visiting with the patients and downloading their records, Angela left the hospital for her hotel. Once in the solitude of her room, she linked her communicator with Athena. 

“Angela, have you been enjoying your trip so far?”

Angela chuckled, “Not really, Athena. It's been hectic up until this point. I think I'll take another day or two just to relax. I have something for you. A surname, Russian, _Anosov_. I believe this man is a high-ranking leader within Talon. His name appeared in the report I uploaded months ago on their brainwashing technology. It seems he knows me but I don't remember anyone by that name. Could you please do a quick search through your database on his name and mine? Thanks.”

Athena didn't reply and Angela assumed she was busy with the task. 

“I have found one match. You attended medical school at Oxford around the same time as a man named Matvei Anosov. My records show he's deceased. He died in a car accident ten years ago in 2070.”

“Well, he's not dead,” Angela replied dryly. “Will you send me anything you have on him? Thanks Athena.”

“I will. My pleasure, Angela.”

Angela ended the call. 

_Matvei Anosov_?

The name still meant nothing to her. She attended school with many different people; names and faces blurred together.

_No use in dwelling on this now_.

It was getting late and Angela suddenly felt the exhaustion from her trip from Oasis to Cairo. Tomorrow would be an interesting day since she made plans to meet with Fareeha for lunch at a small café in Giza. In the past week, she'd been too busy to even think about it or what they would talk about. On the eve of their reunion, she started feeling nervous.

* * *

Angela called for a cab an hour before her “lunch date” with Fareeha. She wore a light blue short-sleeved buttoned blouse with a pair of black pants. After ten minutes of indecisiveness with her hair, she decided to just leave it tied up in a ponytail, as usual. While waiting for her ride, she studied her appearance in the mirror one last time. Everything looked satisfactory except her tired eyes; dark circles formed under them from lack of sleep over the past few weeks. When Angela was younger, she might have bothered with concealer but over the years, she grew accustomed to not fretting so much over her appearance. Plus, she felt comfortable around Fareeha; the woman understood how hard she worked.

Angela's trip to Oasis was hardly a vacation. In fact, it was grueling. She spent long hours helping her old medical relief group install and test some new diagnostics equipment in their medical vans. She also performed a few surgeries on wounded soldiers since they were running slightly understaffed at the moment. The trip left her feeling guilty for leaving them and she promised to assist when she could. But how often would she get that chance, especially with Talon on the rise?

Her phone rang and the driver informed her that the cab was waiting outside.

The small café was off the beaten path in downtown Giza. Fareeha chose it since it wouldn't be too crowded, especially on a weekday. Angela arrived fifteen minutes early and found a small table on the outside balcony. She ordered a water while she waited; her fingers twisted nervously at part of the table cloth that hung over her lap. After the waiter brought her the water, she took a few sips before she started biting on the straw. She felt mentally unprepared for today but there was no turning back now.

Angela sat there in a ball of nerves for five more minutes before she spotted Fareeha step through the door leading out to the balcony. No surprise to Angela, she looked amazing; dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tank top with a black design printed on it, likely from a rock band she listened to. Angela appreciated how the shirt showed off her gorgeous muscular arms and shoulders. Fareeha pulled off the pair of aviators she wore and found Angela. Their eyes locked and she could feel the electricity between them all over again.

Fareeha smiled and walked over to the table. Angela, unsure how to greet her, stood up and held out her hand. She had shaken so many hands recently, it seemed natural at this point. Fareeha chuckled but accepted the hand-shake.

“Angela, is this a business meeting?”

Angela laughed awkwardly, “No, sorry, Fareeha.” She pulled her hand away and Fareeha reached down to pull her into her arms, holding her tightly against her chest. Angela leaned her body into the embrace. Fareeha's arms were so warm and comforting; she could see herself eventually falling asleep right there...

“It's so good to see you again, Angela,” Fareeha whispered close to her ear. 

“I know. It's been too long,” Angela replied into Fareeha's shoulder. 

Fareeha ended the hug and stared into Angela's eyes for a brief moment, almost as if she considered kissing her. Instead, her face grew concerned,

“Angela, you look a bit tired. I take it you haven't had many opportunities to sleep?”

“You're right. I did get some rest last night but it's been a long trip.” Angela realized she still had both of her hands resting around Fareeha's waist and she quickly dropped them to her sides. “Why don't we sit down and I'll fill you in. I'd like to hear how things are going with Helix and your mother.”

They took a seat and began catching up until the waiter appeared to take their order. Angela didn't know what to order so asked for the same thing Fareeha did; some type of sandwich with a side of vegetables. 

After the waiter left, Fareeha filled Angela in on her and Ana's still mending relationship. From the way Fareeha talked about her mother, Angela gathered that things were going pretty well and both were happy to be a part of the others life again. They talked about Ana's budding romance with Reinhardt. Angela told the story about how she caught them one late night necking on the couch in the lounge close to her office. Fareeha laughed and covered her face with her hands a few times during the tale. Angela found something about the gesture adorable.

The conversation turned somber when Angela described her trip to Oasis. She mentioned the ex-soldiers going missing from the city's veteran's hospital and Talon's potential involvement but avoided mentioning Anosov's name. She didn't want Fareeha to worry over him and his one-sided vendetta against her.

When their lunch arrived, they both finished eating relatively quick. Angela was starving; the last time she ate something was over twenty-four hours ago. After lunch, the conversation soon stalled and they hit that awkward moment where they were unsure of what to do next. Angela booked another night at the hotel and her whole day was still free. Fareeha had the day off. They could spend the entire day together but should they?

Thus far, Fareeha avoided mentioning the conversation they had a week ago concerning the state of their relationship. Angela sensed the woman waited for her to make the first move, since she was the one that insisted they put it off until now. Angela bit her lip and decided to broach the topic again.

“Fareeha, about that thing you asked me a week ago when we last spoke over the phone. You remember?”

_Of course she did, what a dumb question_. Angela wanted to kick herself for not coming up with a better opener.

“Yes. Are you ready to talk about it now?” Fareeha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Angela sighed, her hands started twisting at the light yellow table cloth again, “Maybe not 'ready' but I know we should.”

Fareeha leaned forward, her face serious, “Look, Angela. We really don't need to do this if you don't want to. I hope we can remain friends. I do enjoy talking with you. You understand a lot of the stuff that's going on in my life. I don't want to lose that.”

“I agree. I agree,” Angela replied, repeating herself.

Fareeha paused a few moments before continuing, “I'm sure you're aware I'm attracted to you and you're the only woman I can think about right now but...if things aren't going to happen with us, let me know.” Fareeha smirked, “I've turned down a number of dates these past couple of months that I now regret.”

The thought of Fareeha with another woman caused Angela's stomach to turn in an unpleasant way. 

“Is it wrong that I hate the thought of you dating someone else?” Angela asked, immediately regretting it as soon as it left her tongue. 

Fareeha rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, “Yes it is. Angela, I won't play games with you. I want nothing more than to remain friends and I'll move on and date other women. It's unfair to ask something like that.”

“I know. I know, Fareeha. I just...” Angela rested her face in her hands while a war waged in her head. Should she continue or just drop it before she says something even worse? 

She decided to keep going with it. They needed to have this talk either way.

“I'm jealous...fine. I'm sure you know that. I've felt it before...when we went out with your friends and that woman you used to like...”

Fareeha laughed, “Wait, you were jealous of Tahan? She's straight...and married. There's nothing there.”

“It doesn't make sense, yes I know, but she's beautiful and you did have a thing for her.” 

Fareeha's face dropped into a scowl, “You insisted we wait a week to have this discussion. Now, you're telling me you want to keep this as just a friends thing but you also don't want me to look at another woman ever again?”

Angela rubbed her temple. No, that's not what she wanted to say. 

_But what the hell did she want to say?_

Fareeha's intense brown eyes remained trained on her, waiting for an answer.

“No, I don't want to remain friends, “ Angela noticed Fareeha's face fall in disappointment. Shit, why was she terrible at explaining her feelings? “I meant to say, not _just_ friends. I still want to be friends. I don't want you to date another woman but you can look at them. It would be kind of extreme for me to say you couldn't, don't you think?”

Fareeha looked puzzled and hurt, “I'm not sure what you're trying to say anymore, Angela.”

Angela closed her eyes and sighed before continuing, “I'm saying I want to take this to the next level but I don't know how that will work out since we hardly see each other. But I want that...I want you.”

Fareeha continued looking confused at Angela for a few seconds until she smiled shyly. A hint of a blush formed across her cheeks, “Well, I don't know how to handle this either but we can figure it out. I mean, I'm pretty smart and you have a degree from Oxford.”

Angela returned her smile, “If you don't mind driving me back to my hotel, we can discuss it more on the way.”

“Sure, I'll grab the check and we'll get out of here.”

* * *

As planned, they discussed their relationship on the car ride back to the hotel. Not much really needed to change, though they agreed to try and make contact more frequent, even if a small 'hello'. Angela had Lena to thank for that idea. When they arrived at the hotel, Angela invited Fareeha up to her room so they could talk about it some more. 

They never got the chance to continue where they left off, considering Fareeha pinned her against the door as soon as they entered. Only a faint amount of sunlight shown through the closed curtains in the room as they kissed each other passionately, with mouths open and tongues clashing. Angela loved how wonderful Fareeha's full lips felt against her own; how great her tongue felt moving inside her mouth. She needed this so much. Her body agreed. 

Angela lifted Fareeha's shirt to run her fingertips over the muscles of her stomach. Fareeha smiled against her mouth and broke off the kiss.

“You want to continue or are you too tired?”

Angela lifted her hand to touch Fareeha's face near her right eye tattoo, stroking the marking softly. “Well, now I'm definitely awake...” Angela guided Fareeha's head down towards her until their lips met again. This time, the kiss started out gentle while they softly explored each others lips. Fareeha nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments before Angela opened her mouth to deepen the kiss again. She felt Fareeha's hand glide up the front of her blouse and rest near the top most button. She undid half of the buttons and slid her hand inside, cupping it around Angela's breast. Angela gasped when Fareeha started stroking her stiff nipple through the fabric of her bra. 

“I've been thinking about this a lot since last time,” Fareeha's hot breath whispered against her ear. 

“Yeah, what were you thinking about, Fareeha?” Angela asked breathlessly. She pulled Fareeha closer at the hip.

Fareeha ran her tongue along Angela's ear before finally answering. “Thinking about all the places I didn't get to kiss you last time. I'm going to make up for that today.”

Fareeha pinched at her left nipple and Angela moaned against her mouth. Fareeha responded by quickening the pace of her strokes against the stiffened bud. Angela felt her core heat up. She loved how Fareeha played with her breasts though couldn't wait to feel her hands elsewhere on her body. 

“Any particular place you had in mind?” Angela teased after she caught her breath.

Fareeha slowly licked around her earlobe and Angela moaned softly, grinding her hips against her lover. She stopped after a few seconds to pull her head back and look Angela in the eyes. She shot her a wicked grin, “Your ear maybe? You seem to like that.”

Angela huffed in mock disappointment, “I think you can do better than that.”

Fareeha's smile widened and her dark brown eyes glowed softly in the dim light. She pulled Angela in for another kiss. She couldn't get over how happy her lover's face looked in that moment. Earlier at the café, Angela realized she only ever considered her own feelings while debating herself over whether to enter a serious relationship or not. Fareeha's feelings were just as important as hers of course, if not more so. Angela wanted to take it further not just for herself but for Fareeha. She wanted to make her happy.

Fareeha unbuttoned the remainder of Angela's blouse and tossed it on a nearby chair. Her black laced bra soon joined. Fareeha's tank top was next. The woman lifted her strong arms over her head so Angela could pull it up off of her. She hungered for more skin contact with Fareeha. As a doctor, Angela touched a lot of people but rarely so intimately and with the intention of bringing pleasure. 

She was surprised how desperately she desired it. 

As they continued kissing , Angela ran her hands over Fareeha's recently bared stomach muscles. She snaked her left hand slowly down under her jeans until she found the waistband of her underwear. Her hand suddenly dove further underneath them, causing Fareeha to gasp and tilted her head back.

Angela smiled and began kissing Fareeha along her exposed neck. 

“I guess you want my pants out of the way next?” She asked while Angela continued kissing a trail along her neck.

“Mmmmmhmmmm...” Angela mumbled while her lips and tongue still stroked over Fareeha's skin.

“You first,” Fareeha slowly removed Angela's hand from her pants and led her over to the bed..

Angela fell backwards on to the bed and Fareeha began undoing the button and zipper on her pants. She kicked off the sandals she was wearing and shifted herself up off the bed so her lover could pull her pants off. Fareeha quickly removed both pants and underwear together, leaving Angela completely naked. She lifted both legs onto the bed, bending them at the knee. Fareeha smiled at her before kneeling down to place a few kisses on her knee. Her eyes met Angela's and they held a certain mischievous glint as if she was quite pleased with herself. 

Wasting no time, Fareeha placed herself in between Angela's legs and crawled up her body. She kissed her on the mouth a few more times before working her way down again, placing one of Angela's nipples inside her mouth. Angela moaned in response. She could feel her groin throbbing in excited anticipation, knowing what was coming. It had been so long since a woman went down on her. She couldn't believe it was so close to happening and it was going to happen with Fareeha. 

Fareeha licked and sucked at Angela's nipples, giving them a great deal of attention. Satisfied with her work on them, she started kissing her way down the trail that led to the wetness between Angela's legs. She continued to tease by nibbling and kissing around her thighs before finally diving in. 

Angela's moans grew louder the moment Fareeha placed her lips and tongue over her wet pussy. She lost herself in that moment and the incredible sensations as her lover's mouth moved against her. 

_Fuck, this is amazing_.

Angela forgot about her troubles and everything else in the world, except for Fareeha.

* * *

The two spent hours fucking until both were exhausted but wholly satisfied. Fareeha decided to spend the night at the hotel since she started work late the next day. While laying in bed that night, Angela considered extending her time in Cairo to spend a few more days with her. She didn't have any pressing matters back at Overwatch base and could spend time studying the patient records obtained from Behman while Fareeha worked. Afterwards, the two could grab dinner or just cuddle together on the couch. Both ideas sounded wonderful to her.

The next morning, Angela watched out the window in her hotel room as the sun peeked up from behind the horizon. Fareeha slept peacefully next to her, head resting against her shoulder. Angela would ask her about staying a few more days when she finally woke.

A few moments later, Fareeha stirred in her arms. She lifted her head enough to get a look at Angela through sleepy eyes.

“Good morning,” Fareeha whispered.

“Good morning, Fareeha. Sleep well?” Angela replied with a knowing smile.

Fareeha didn't answer and lifted her head off Angela's shoulder and laid down on a nearby pillow. She smiled up at Angela for a few seconds before breaking the silence.

“Angela, what happened to 'keeping it simple'”? Fareeha asked with the last few words spoken in a mocking tone. She looked over at Angela while her head still rested against the pillow. Her messy raven hair spilled down over her face, covering most of her sleepy eyes.

Angela giggled, “Did I say that? I said it can be simple not that it should be.” She reached over and lazily brushed a few locks of hair out of Fareeha's eyes.

Fareeha laughed. She rolled over and rested her head against Angela's shoulder again. “Shut up, Angela,” she murmured with her mouth pressed against bare skin.

Angela smirked, “You surely didn't want me to 'shut up' last night, Fareeha. You were quite demanding I do anything but that. What changed?”

Fareeha buried her sleepy head deeper against her shoulder and said something unintelligible. Angela pulled her lover in even closer to her. They spent a lazy hour in bed before Fareeha needed to leave to prepare for work. She agreed that Angela could stay a few more days at her place. Angela packed her bags and checked out and drove with Fareeha to her apartment. They didn't have much time to spend together but they'd make the most out of it.


	13. Chapter 13

_Breaking news from Numbani International Airport_.

_Numerous OR15 defense bots destroyed in major confrontation_.

_All flights suspended_.

_Unknown assailant..._

_The infamous Doomfist's gauntlet stolen from the Overwatch museum..._

Wearing sweats and resting on the couch in her living room, Fareeha flicked back and forth between a handful of news channels. She first heard the news from Numbani around an hour ago while driving home from work and now searched for the latest updates regarding the theft at the Overwatch museum located in that city and the destructive battle at the airport. The museum even contracted Helix to help guard some of the more dangerous items...the Doomfist gauntlet being one of those. 

_Akande Ogundimu rumored to be the culprit..._

Fareeha's blood froze in her veins. She recognized the name. The former owner of the gauntlet. It made sense for the authorities to offer him as their number one suspect. He recently escaped imprisonment from a maximum security HSI facility with help from Reaper. A dozen guards died in the attack. Fareeha burned with white-hot anger every time she thought about the incident. Even more so over the involvement of the man she once knew as Gabriel Reyes.

_Betrayal_. 

The guards were betrayed by someone in Helix they all trusted. 

Gabriel betrayed her and everyone she loved.

Today's museum break-in marked another HSI failure involving Akande, or _Doomfist_ as he was referred to in the legends. Fareeha knew of the man before he joined Talon and gained the moniker, back when he was just a famous martial arts champion. As a young girl, she studied some of those martial styles herself and fondly remembers the time her mother took her to see one of the championship tournaments in Cairo. Akande Ogundimu easily won that day. She never saw someone fight with such fierceness and a perfect combination of strength and agility. 

Today, that man reclaimed a powerful weapon capable of leveling a skyscraper...well, that's what all the stories say at least. 

A ringing noise emitted from Fareeha's laptop sitting on top of the table in front of her couch. It signaled an incoming message from her mother. She leaned forward and clicked the button to accept a voice call.

“Fareeha, I'm sure you've heard the news,” she could hear Ana sigh. “Winston is probably beside himself and poor Lena...”

“Wait, where are you at, mum? You're still in Egypt? I thought you were with them all in Gibraltar?”

“That was the plan until Jack and I noticed an increase in Talon activity in the area. Even though Gabriel's been busy elsewhere, they're still interested in something here. Which is why I'm calling. Be careful, Fareeha. They'll be emboldened with the return of one of their strongest leaders. They could be planning an attack on the Temple and Anubis A.I.”

“They can try. I won't let them succeed,” Fareeha replied through gritted teeth.

“I know but do you trust that all your superiors hold the same sentiment?”

Fareeha closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “No, not anymore.”

* * *

The thudding sound of fist connecting with punching bag filled her ears as Fareeha practiced her hand-to-hand training at the HSI gym. She added a spinning kick and finished with a powerful hook of her right arm; when fist connected, a loud grunt escaped from her mouth. She glanced at the large digital clock hanging on the far side of the gym. Her shift started in a half hour; just enough time to grab a shower and get dressed.

Fareeha wiped the sweat from her forehead with her right arm and began removing the heavy bandages from her hand. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Tahan entering the gym through the side door. Her long, dark hair was tied up in a bun and she wore a white towel around her shoulders. She waved at Fareeha and joined her near the punching bag.

“Hey Amari, letting off a little steam? I hope things are okay between you and Angela? Please tell me they are. We don't need you being all mopey around here.”

So far among Fareeha's coworkers, only Tahan and Saleh knew that she and Angela were a couple. She told Saleh about it first, late one night while they drank a few beers at a bar. He promised not to tell anyone else and he almost made it an entire day with the secret. Needless to say, Tahan also knew by the end of that day.

Fareeha smiled reassuringly at her friend, “No, things are great with us. Besides barely getting to see each other but we knew that before getting into it.”

Tahan grinned, “That's great to hear, Amari. Speaking of which, Adeem and I would love to have you two over for dinner sometime when Angela's around. What do you say? Say yes. That's the only answer I'll accept, by the way.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes while she removed the last of her bandages, “I don't get that much time with her as it is, so I'll have to decline. Respectfully,” she added with a sly smile. Knowing Angela, she'd agree to dinner but Fareeha was answering more for herself, wishing to be selfish with her girlfriend's time and attention...at least while their romance was so young. 

“I also might have told Naima about Angela and she wants to meet her. She was so excited that maybe she could meet someone from Overwatch...or, who was in Overwatch. Same thing to her.”

_Dammit_.

“You _might_ have told her?”

“Amari, you know I told her. Of course I did.”

Tahan's young one was adorable and reminded Fareeha of herself when she was that young. Saying no to Tahan proved simple but the same rule never applied to her daughter.

She sighed, “We'll consider it but no promises. And don't say anything to Naima until I confirm.”

Tahan smiled brightly, “Hey, thanks. That's better than a 'no'. We'd love to have you both over, honestly.” She looked over at the clock on the wall. “I should stop chatting and get my workout in before I start my shift. You should go too. I heard you have a new recruit to train. We'll talk later.” She waved goodbye and jogged to the other side of the gym.

_Right, new recruit_. With the recent distractions in her life, Fareeha nearly forgot about him. He was either the second or third cousin of Mr. Sayed. It was her responsibility to ensure her unit put on their best behavior today.

_Great_.

* * *

“Inside this panel is where you'll find the fuel tank for the Mark V suit,” Fareeha pressed her index finger against a small button on Fadi Sayed's recently issued Raptora suit, releasing a hatch and opening a panel made of light-weight polymers. She made it routine to take each and every new Helix recruit on a tour of their Raptora suit on the first day of their training. Considering her latest pupil was the cousin of her boss's boss, she would make it extra thorough. Saleh shifted his weight from left leg to right just out of Fareeha's sight. She required he attend these sessions as a sort of “Captain's training” since he was in line to take over her position in case she could no longer fulfill it.

Saleh hated this part.

Fareeha turned to the new recruit, “Do you need me to explain how the propulsion system works in detail? Or if you're just curious. I can give a basic run-down.”

Saleh cleared his throat. He also hated when Fareeha explained the mechanics and science behind the Raptora's systems. Lucky for him, most recruits passed on the offer. When they accepted, Fareeha prolonged the lecture as long as possible for Saleh's annoyance.

“That won't be necessary. I know enough from my cousin,” Sayed replied.

Saleh smirked, quite pleased with that answer.

“Since you've already passed your licensing exam, you can start flight training for the remainder of the day. I'm on duty at that time and our flight instructors can assist you. They'll teach you some of the basics. No fancy aerial maneuvers yet,” Fareeha smiled and patted the new recruit on the shoulder. “You know where the training area is, recruit?”

The man nodded in reply.

“Good, I'll let you know when we are to continue your training with me. Dismissed.”

He saluted then turned on a heel to walk away towards the western wing of the Helix compound, which housed the flight training area. Fareeha waited in silence with Saleh while both watched the new recruit walk away. She wanted her Lieutenant's opinion on their newest squad member but not with him in ear-shot.

She never got the chance to ask Saleh for his opinion. Before recruit Sayed reached the large set of doors leading to the Western wing, a voice rang through the comm-link attached around her ear.

“Captain, it's Hameer. We have a problem. Sarraf's missing from our patrol but we have a reading on her location. I can send you coordinates. You should know that Talon mercenaries have been sighted in that area.”

_Of course, Talon had to be involved_.

“The Lieutenant and I will suit up A.S.A.P. and meet you near the eastern guard tower. Amari out.”

Fareeha turned to face Saleh who answered her with a shrug, “So much for an easy night. I'll meet you by the tower, Captain.”

He left Fareeha and followed in the same direction Sayed took a minute earlier. Fareeha pulled out her datapad in order to reschedule a meeting then walked towards the direction of her office, since she suited up in a room near there. On most days, she craved action and looked forward to any chance to take on Talon. Today, the stakes were too high apprehension settled into her stomach. In all likelihood, they held one of her own soldiers hostage. This soldier, Sarraf, joined Helix only four months ago but thus far proved a valuable asset to her team. If Talon captured her...

Fareeha set her jaw and hastily donned her Raptora armor. She silently vowed to find the young woman and bring her back in one piece. No one deserved the fate of a Talon slave. 

In twenty minutes, Fareeha, Saleh, and Hameer left the safety of the Helix base behind them and flew off towards Sarraf's coordinates. In short time, they reached their destination; the small town where Fareeha met Angela after she escaped from a Talon compound around five months earlier. 

_No coincidence_. Fareeha didn't like this.

The town was sparsely populated with most residents living along the sand-covered roadway passing through. The abandoned warehouse sat off that road on the other side of town. Fareeha's instincts urged her to investigate it but...

“We need to be careful. I'm sensing an ambush,” Fareeha advised her squad.

“Yeah,” Saleh murmured. “Should we call for backup, Captain?” 

Fareeha mentally cycled through all the mission parameters. First thing, the town's inhabitants needed evacuated as quickly as possible, in case Talon forces lay waiting for an ambush, to prevent civilian casualties in a fire fight.

“Saleh, stay here and call for an evac shuttle. I want to get these people out of here if we can. Hameer and I will scout ahead, towards the older part of town. I'll let you know if I was right about the ambush.”

“Affirmative. Just be careful,” Saleh saluted before marching off towards the nearest house. Fareeha hated uprooting these people, especially this late in the day, but it was necessary for their safety.

“Let's move, Hameer.” They approached the opposite end of town on foot with Fareeha watching for any sign of life on her visor's interface. Nothing. Her sensors found nothing in the area around the old abandoned warehouse. The IR technology didn't account for cloaking tech or omnics though...

Before Fareeha decided on their next move, she heard a modulated voice speak over her comm-link, “Mama bird to nest. I'm with the knave. Meet us alone in the warehouse.”

Shit, her mom and Jack waited in the warehouse Why were they here? Oddly, her sensors failed to pick them up, which meant they used a cloaking device; more technology Jack stole from Helix.

Fareeha turned to give an order to Hameer, “Stand guard outside while I investigate the warehouse. Inform me as soon as you notice anything suspicious.”

Hameer looked puzzled, not understanding why her Captain risked going inside the warehouse by herself, but she saluted and removed her rocket launcher from its holster. Fareeha gave the soldier a nod and proceeded towards the back door leading into the building. 

The inside of the warehouse appeared unchanged since her last visit. She pulled out her side-arm and cautiously stepped towards the large, central room. Entering, she spotted two figures standing near a stack of beat-up looking crates against the right wall. She instantly recognized the man as Jack Morrison. The person standing next to him wore a long black coat with purple and blue detail. A hood covered their head and a black mask with a blue triangle in the middle covered their entire face. In spite of this person's efforts to conceal her identity, Fareeha recognized her own mother by posture and mannerisms. She strode towards the two old soldiers while keeping her side arm ready, in case they weren't alone.

“Mum, Jack. Why did you lead us here? What's going on? Do you know what happened to my missing squadmate? Sarraf is her name.”

Ana started taking off her mask and Jack answered first, “We know one thing, Fareeha. Her name's not Sarraf.”

Fareeha blinked a few times before replying, “What do you mean?”

“She's a Talon spy, Fareeha,” Ana answered, her face now free from the mask. 

“You're kidding?”

“Do we look like we're kidding? I like a good joke but not when my daughter's life is on the line.”

“I know, mum. I just can't believe it. “ Fareeha looked between her mother and Jack. “How did you get her tracker? Did you two plant it here just so you could tell me this?”

“Sort of,” Jack replied. “Talon planted it at another location. We intercepted and placed it here, since you're familiar with the building and it would feel safe to you.”

“Hmph, relatively speaking. Not many places should feel safe anymore,” Ana added.

“We believe Talon wants to eliminate you from the equation, Fareeha. You've pissed them off for some time now,” Jack explained further. “Normally I'd be happy when someone does that but it puts you in danger.”

_Fuck_. This was an unfortunate turn of events but part of her felt oddly flattered that Talon deemed her such a threat. She took the threat seriously, knowing they didn't fuck around and would find a way to take her down sooner or later. She refused to cower, though. But what if something happened to her? How would that affect her mother? Or, Angela? 

“Fuck,” Fareeha blurted out.

“I know, right?” Ana replied with her dry, humorous tone but then placed a hand on Fareeha's shoulder. “If it were up to me, you'd leave Helix and hide with Winston and the others in Gibraltar but it's not and I know you don't want to hide.”

Fareeha had to admit, the idea of running away to Gibraltar appealed to her on some levels since it meant more time to spend with Angela. But if Talon drove her out of Helix, could the Giza branch of the company continue to fend off the terrorist organization's influence? Talon had their claws all over the Numbani one and it would be devastating if the same happened at the Temple of Giza with the Anubis A.I. On the other hand, she was just one person with only so much influence in HSI. Could she really stop them? Was it worth risking her life? 

Another consideration: her squad. They were her family. She hated the thought of abandoning them to this.

“I don't want to give up and hide. But dying doesn't appeal to me...”

“Captain, do you read me? What's the sitrep?” Hameer's voice rang in her ear, interrupting Fareeha.

“Hold on,” she pointed her finger in the air, signaling to her mom and Jack that she needed to communicate with her squad mate. “It's all clear, Hameer. I'll give it one more sweep and meet you outside. Amari out.” She cut the line and addressed Ana. “We need to make this quick. I'm taking a week's leave in a few days. I'll have to play it safe. During that week, I think I'll pay you all a visit at Gibraltar base. It will give me a chance to lay low and think about things.”

Ana smiled, “Good idea. I probably won't be there, though. Lena can pick you up and fly you there. In the meantime, Jack and I will be on the lookout for any potential threats to your safety.”

Fareeha frowned, “If you won't be there, you'll miss my birthday. Again.”

Ana chuckled, “I know, it's been years since I got you anything. I'll have to make it up to you. Now, get out of here before the others get suspicious.”

“Just be careful, kid,” Jack added while patting her on the shoulder. It annoyed Fareeha when he slipped and called her that. 

The three of them said their final farewells and Fareeha exited the warehouse through the back door. Hameer met her just outside. Now came the best part of the evening: reporting all of this to Nassar. 

Well, minus the part involving her mother and Jack. 

There was a slight problem. Her team never found Sarraf and gave up on the hunt too soon. Fareeha knew prolonging the search would only place her and her soldiers in danger; and she surely didn't want to find and return a traitor to Helix. But, how would Nassar take the news? Either way, the negative consequences from the failed mission landed solely on her shoulders and she willingly took on those burdens for her squad.

Fareeha and Hameer left the part of town near the warehouse to meet up with Saleh. Fareeha sent word ahead for him to cancel the evacuation. He gladly complied; he hated the task as much as she did. Once the three reunited, Fareeha sent their status to Nassar. As she expected, he wasn't pleased they found nothing. He ordered her to keep searching north of the town. 

Fareeha refused and stated she'd meet him in his office for her inevitable reprimand when they returned.

* * *

A thin rectangle of light shone from underneath the door to Nassar's office. Fareeha took a deep breath while opening the door; at least she could get this over with right away. Nassar sat behind a large oak desk placed in the far right corner of the room. He motioned for her to take the seat in front of the desk when he noticed Fareeha enter.

“Amari,” her name was sharp on his tongue. He sounded just as angry as when her first heard her bad news over comms.

“Sir,” Fareeha saluted and quickly pulled a nearby chair into place opposite of her superior. She sat down and smoothed out some of the folds on her beige HSI issued dress slacks.

“What am I supposed to make of your actions tonight, Amari?” Nassar asked while rubbing the close-cut beard on his chin. He tried to keep his voice steady this time but Fareeha still caught a hint of anger.

“Sarraf was a Talon traitor, sir. They planned to lead us into an ambush. A continued search for her put my team and I at risk.”

Nassar's eyes shot open and his face grew beet red. “What? That's quite the accusation. How do you know this? Your proof? Where is it, Amari?”

Her proof. Her mother's word; insufficient evidence even if people knew her mother still lived. What could she tell him then?

Fareeha began wringing her hands in her lap, “I have none, sir. I just had a gut feeling.”

Nassar leaned forward over his desk and pointed his right index finger towards her face, “I don't give a shit about your feelings, Amari. My superiors don't give a shit about your feelings.” He paused to rub his face before continuing, “I don't know if I should be telling you this, but some of them are suspicious of you. Given all that's happened recently in Numbani...in fact, Sarraf reported you for acting strange.”

Fareeha's eyes widened and she clenched her left fist in anger. _That little shit_. More of the pieces started falling into place in this fucked up jigsaw puzzle. Sarraf already put the plans into motion to cast doubt on Fareeha, even before her gambit tonight. If Talon fails, Fareeha appears even more suspicious since Sarraf, the person who reported her, is now missing. They did fail and that's exactly where they've left Fareeha.

Nassar leaned back in his chair and continued, “It seems I have a choice. Believe her or believe you. She's M.I.A. and that's suspicious as hell. And knowing who your mother was, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

It stung Fareeha in her core when Nassar mentioned her mother. 

“Why does it matter who she was?” she asked with her voice raised. “You're judging me, not my mother. I've been with Helix for how many years now? I've sacrificed so much... I would hope that means something more than just who my mother was...sir.”

Nassar looked at her with regret. It was a rare occurrence for him to show sympathy, “Look, Amari. I know what you're about and I believe you but you should be careful. That's all I'm telling you. The incident with Talon months ago raised suspicion as well. I'm sure you remember the night you suddenly rushed out of base all by yourself and returned with a couple of Talon agents in tow.”

“And you remember Dr. Ziegler corroborated my report?”

“Sure, but she was under suspicion as well. We caught her sneaking around a recently abandoned Talon base just a few nights before that. My reports state that technology discovered in the lab was similar to what she developed herself earlier in her career. Why was she there? Sayed vouched for his friend Lindholm but not Ziegler.”

_He wouldn't dare suggest?_

Fareeha lost her cool, “That's fucking bullshit, _sir_. You're suggesting she's a Talon spy? No, she would never... She's the most caring and selfless person I've ever met. For fucks sake, she spends her free time healing wounded soldiers and asks for nothing in return.”

Nassar held up his hands, “I know her reputation but do you think 'good' people never join Talon?”

Fareeha immediately thought of Gabriel. She clenched her fist tighter, “No, they do. But I do know Angela's not one of them.”

Nassar raised an eyebrow, “Angela?”

_Shit_. Her outburst sounded too personal. She had to dial that down.

“Sorry, Dr. Ziegler, sir,” Fareeha quickly corrected.

“Right. I don't appreciate your tone, Amari. I'll reiterate. I believe you but you need to watch your ass from now on. It's a good thing you're taking leave shortly because I think you need it. No, you're starting leave a few days early on my orders. Don't show up here tomorrow. Dismissed, Amari.”

“Thank you, sir.” Fareeha replied bitterly and stood up from the chair and made haste towards the exit. She rushed home hoping for the chance to speak with Angela that night.

* * *

After arriving at her apartment, Fareeha quickly showered and dressed in her night clothes. She sat down on her couch and dialed Angela's number. No answer. She left a message. She hoped Angela returned the call that night. Fareeha waited a few more minutes and decided to shoot her mother a message via the chat application they typically use to communicate, letting her know what happened. Ana replied immediately and explained that she'd get in touch with Lena on her behalf. According to her, the pilot could be in Egypt early the next morning. Fareeha agreed to pack her things tonight. She would arrive in Gibraltar by tomorrow afternoon.

Even if Angela couldn't return her call tonight, she would get to see her in person soon. The thought provided temporary comfort until her mind wandered to Talon, to Gabriel, to what could happen with her squad at Helix. The doubts from earlier flooded over her. Her throat tightened and eyes filled with hot tears. She blinked a few times and they gently cascaded down her cheeks. 

She desperately needed to hear Angela's voice right now.

Her phone rang next to her on the couch and her heart soared to the moon when she saw Angela's name on the screen. 

“Angela,” she choked on her name and paused to steady her voice. “I'm so glad you had time to call me tonight.”

“I can make time and you sounded upset in your message. Fareeha, what happened? You're starting to worry me. You're crying.”

Fareeha sniffled and wiped her eyes with her right hand. “I don't know what to do, Angela. Talon wants me gone from HSI. Gone as in dead or thrown in jail as a traitor. But I can't just leave. I can't abandon the good people there.”

“You can if it means you'll be safe. You can't protect them if you're dead, Fareeha.” Angela paused, “Wait, I'm sorry to do this, but we probably shouldn't talking over this line.”

As much as Fareeha needed to hear Angela right now, she had to agree. Talon could have it bugged.

“Damn, you're right. Sorry.”

“Fareeha, don't apologize. Just be careful and I'll find another way to get in touch with you soon. I'm just glad you're safe now. That's the most important thing.”

“Thanks, Angela.”

They ended the call. Fareeha smiled to herself. She knew a secret that Angela didn't. She knew just how soon they would get in touch again. 

If everything went according to plan: tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a shorter chapter (3K words) but it didn't go that way (5K words). Sorry, I posted a little later than usual.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Drops of blue liquid trickled out of a pipette and into a small glass beaker. Angela watched a few more of the drops fall as she sat with her head resting in her hand at a tall bench in her makeshift medical laboratory. Since ending the call with Fareeha last night, she found it difficult to focus on her research. It didn't help things that she only managed to sleep a few hours last night.

She worried for her lover's safety. 

Angela regretted the abrupt ending to the call. Fareeha's voice sounded so hurt and shaken...Angela desperately wanted to comfort her but...

_Ana can help._

Angela knew Ana communicated with Fareeha via a secure and encrypted chat program on her personal computer. She could potentially set the same up on Angela's own laptop. Not an ideal solution. Ana would definitely ask questions. Why was Angela so eager to communicate with her daughter in this manner?

Not ideal, but the only option at this time.

Then again, she had to consider Sombra, the woman who's hacked into her laptop a few times...

Angela turned a knob on the pipette to close the valve, shutting off the flow of solution. She picked up her notepad on the bench and began recording a few notes. Her ears perked upon hearing commotion in the hall outside her lab. It sounded like Reinhardt. Angela thought nothing of it at first; the man was always loud. Curiosity and annoyance got the better of her when she heard another voice chime in. If Reinhardt was wrestling with someone outside her lab again....

Angela blew away a stray lock of bangs that had fallen into her right eye and hopped down from the stool near the lab bench. She marched over to the door and yanked it open. Near the end of the hallway, she spotted Reinhardt leaning against the wall while he spoke with Torbjörn. At least they weren't wresting.

“Reinhardt, do you mind? I can hear the two of you all the way down here.”

Reinhardt's face lit up when he saw her. “Oh, Angela! Did you hear the news? Come here!” He waved for her to join them on the other end of the hallway. 

In spite of feeling an increased annoyance at the interruption, Angela compiled and walked over to join the men. “No, what news?” Her eyes moved between the two men as she search for an answer in Reinhardt's face, then in Torbjörn's, then back to Reinhardt's.

Reinhardt replied first, “Lena just called in. She's bringing a special guest in under an hour. Ana's daughter, little Fareeha! I haven't seen her in ages.”

_Fareeha's coming here? In less than an hour? Why didn't she say something last night? Oh, right..._

“I wouldn't say she's little. Maybe next to you, old man.” Torbjörn added.

“I just can't wait to see her again! Too bad Ana's not here to spend time with her.” He paused and after a few seconds, his smiling face turned into one covered with confusion. “Oh, you didn't know Fareeha very well? I'm sorry, Angela. I thought you'd be just as excited as we are.” He reached down patted Torbjörn on the back. The shorter man simply grunted.

Angela cleared her throat. She felt her face turning red, “No, we've met...a couple of times. Just recently five months ago with him.” She nodded her head in Torbjörn's direction. “I'm surprised she's coming here of all places and without any notice. Is she okay?”

Reinhardt nodded his head. “As far as I know, Angela.”

“Good. I should return to my research. My experiments aren't going to complete themselves. Reinhardt, when Fareeha arrives, can you tell her to visit my lab when she has the chance? I wish to speak with her. Thanks,”

“I will, Angela! You have my word.”

She left the two men to their conversation and returned to the lab. On one hand, Angela was thrilled to see Fareeha again. She could finally give her lover the comfort she desired last night. It warmed her heart thinking of Fareeha and holding her closely in her arms while the woman shed her burdens. On the other hand, they'd have to be careful and conceal their affections to avoid suspicion. Not an easy task when you share a base with a bunch of nosy Overwatch agents. Thankfully, Mei recently left for Japan on a field study, meaning they would have the apartment all to themselves.

_Stop worrying, this will work out great_.

First things first. Angela left the lab and walked over to her room in order to find something nice to wear under her lab-coat; ideally, a shirt free of holes eaten away by hydrochloric acid.

* * *

Each minute dragged on while Angela waited for Fareeha in the small office adjacent to her lab. She spent the time hastily cleaning up her desk. She moved all the papers and notebooks to a nearby bookshelf _after_ she wiped away a layer of dust that gathered over it during her residence at Gibraltar. While cleaning off the desk, she discovered a dirty cup with a green mass growing inside. She considered cleaning it but instead decided to toss it into the dumpster outside the base. 

After the last minute cleaning session, Angela tried to read over a research paper on cellular atrophy but her mind wandered too easily; she caught herself rereading the same two sentences over and over. She gave up, closing the document. Before she could find something else to distract her, she heard a knock on her office door. 

“Come in. It's open.”

The door opened revealing Fareeha wearing a large toothy grin along with her leather jacket, a light blue t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Her sunglasses sat atop her head and her hair was missing the gold beads.

“Sorry I took so long. It couldn't get away from everyone.”

Angela chuckled, “I'm not surprised. They haven't seen you in so long.”

She rushed over to Fareeha and threw herself into the woman's arms, hugging her tightly against her chest.

“Easy, I think Reinhardt crushed a few of my ribs,” Fareeha replied but then pulled Angela even closer to her chest.

“I was so worried about you all night, Fareeha,” Angela murmured against the taller woman's shoulder. She let go of her hold on Fareeha and gazed into her gorgeous dark brown eyes. “I'm so sorry we couldn't talk.”

Fareeha reached over and cupped her hand on Angela's cheek. She began gently massaging Angela's lips with her thumb.

“We can talk now.” 

Fareeha leaned in closer and kissed Angela, easing her tongue into Angela's mouth.

Angela returned the tender kiss for a few moments until she pulled her mouth away and smiled up at Fareeha.

“It seems you have something else in mind besides talking.”

Fareeha smiled, “You've got me there. But we can't do either yet. Torbjörn insisted on giving me a full tour of his workshop. And then I promised I'd hang out with him and Bastion...and Reinhardt and Jesse for the afternoon. Oh, and I almost forgot. Lena wanted to show me where I'll be staying. She has an extra bed in her room. I'll be quite busy for awhile but after that, you can have my full attention.”

Angela lifted both her hands to gently tug at the collar of Fareeha's jacket. “Well, I didn't want to wait that long, but I suppose we have no choice. I'll be in my apartment. I'm not in the mood for running experiments today. My roommate is gone for almost a week so we'll have the whole place to ourselves.” She winked at Fareeha who smiled and bit her bottom lip. “The apartment is two doors down from here on the right-side. But take your time. I know you have a lot of catching up to do.”

Fareeha leaned forwarded to give Angela a quick peck on the lips, “I will but I can't wait to get you alone. There's some things I want to get off my chest about last night and I want to talk to you about them.”

“I'll be there for you, Fareeha. Whatever you need.”

* * *

After Fareeha left, Angela remained in her office for another hour before returning to her apartment. She made a second attempt at reading the research paper and managed to only finish a paragraph before a message popped up on her screen. A familiar purple skull flashed before her eyes.

_Hey friend, we haven't chatted in awhile. I have something I think you'll be interested in. You've been doing some research on Anosov. I'll be honest with you...I don't like that guy either. I can give you a chance to get even with him_.

_File download in process. 2%_

_13%_

_28%_

Angela sighed. Sombra's timing was awful. With Fareeha here...should she mention this to her? 

_Take care, doctor. I hope we'll meet again someday._

Angela clenched her jaw tight and closed the chat program. A new file appeared on the desktop. She linked in her communicator to Athena's local network.

“Athena, if you're not busy, could you please scan a file for viruses or anything malicious? I received another file from Sombra.”

“It would be my pleasure, Angela. I must request control of your computer, if you don't mind.”

“No, go ahead.”

Athena's logo appeared on her screen and remained for a couple of minutes before disappearing.

“It's clean, Angela.”

“Thanks, Athena.”

She opened the folder. It contained a few small video files and documents. She watched the first video listed in the folder. It looked like surveillance footage outside a large snow covered building. She spotted a mountain range in the background. 

Next, Angela opened one of the documents. Blueprints of what appeared to be an old factory. There was obviously something important about this place since Sombra sent her all this information about it. But what was it? Where was it? She closed that file and opened another small text file. It listed a set of numbers; coordinates for the building. Angela opened a web browser and navigated to a mapping website, entering the pair of numbers. The cursor over the middle of the map zoomed in over a point located in northern Russia, near a town called Norilsk.

“Athena. I'm going to send you a set of coordinates. Please send me any information you find on this area.”

“Right away, Angela. I'll send you a report of my findings.”

After five minutes, Athena delivered a report to Angela's computer and she immediately read it. This building was an old factory owned by Volskaya Industries that was shut down around fifteen years ago. Angela assumed Talon now used it. They loved appropriating old, abandoned buildings for their own vile intentions. Since Sombra mentioned Anosov, this was likely his base of operations. But what was the hacker's game? Was it a trap? Did Talon want Overwatch to remove one of their own people? Angela wouldn't put it past them to manipulate Overwatch into taking out their dirty laundry, especially if some in Talon disagreed with the move against Anosov.

Angela hated to admit it but she wanted to take the man down for her personal reasons. He stole her life's work and bastardized it. But if the warehouse was heavily guarded and if this was a trap, their small group of vigilantes stood no chance. The best course of action would be to discuss it with Ana and the others, she decided.

“Athena, I'm uploading all the files related to this warehouse to your data-banks. Will you send the information and word of this situation to Ana? Thanks again.”

Angela logged off and closed her laptop. She checked her phone and saw a message from Fareeha, informing her that she'd be another hour. 

_I'll use this time to clean up around here_.

Since they rarely spent time in it, Angela and Mei kept their apartment relatively clean with Angela's room being the messier of the two. However, it didn't take her long to clean up. She picked up a pile of clothes on the floor of her bedroom and placed them in the closet and organized the small desk opposite her bed. When finished, she lit a small mint chocolate candle to make the place smell nicer. 

Satisfied with the apartment's condition, Angela decided to make a pot of tea for Fareeha. She knew Ana kept a stash of Koshary tea in the lounge. If Fareeha was as picky as Ana when it came to tea, she wouldn't want anything else. Angela walked down to the lounge to _borrow_ some of Ana's tea and a few mint leaves that she kept in the freezer. Ana never drank her tea without them. 

Angela returned to her apartment and prepared the tea in the same way she had watched Ana do it for years. She read over the latest world news while waiting on the tea and Fareeha. 

Twenty minutes passed by before she heard a knock on her apartment door. She opened the door to find Fareeha standing outside wearing a large grin on her face. 

“I finally made it. I didn't think they'd ever let me go,” Angela stepped to the side and Fareeha entered the apartment. 

“Did anyone see you coming towards my place?” Angela asked. She noticed Fareeha carried with her a large shoe box. 

Fareeha leaned down to plant a quick kiss her on the lips, “No. I'm supposed to be in Lena's room now.”

“Won't she realize you're missing?”

“She had to leave again. My mom wants Lena to pick her up and bring her here. Why didn't she decide this yesterday and save Lena the second trip to Egypt? That woman makes no sense sometimes,” Fareeha rolled her eyes.

_Ana probably received Athena's message and is returning because of it_ , Angela thought.

“I might know why she's traveling here all of a sudden. I have something to tell you. It's about Talon. But first, have a seat and I'll pour you a cup of tea.”

Fareeha's face looked concerned but she sat on the sofa to wait for Angela.

“What kind of tea is it?” Fareeha asked when Angela reached her kitchen area.

“It's your mom's Koshary tea. Yes, I stole some of her tea but hopefully she won't notice.”

Fareeha laughed, “Oh, she will, trust me.”

Angela loved hearing Fareeha's laughter, especially now with all their troubles involving Talon. 

After pouring the tea, she returned to Fareeha and joined her on the sofa. 

Fareeha took a few sips, “This is great, Angela. Thank you. Now, tell me what's happening with Talon, besides how they're trying to kill me.”

Angela placed her hand on Fareeha's lap. “Fareeha, if you want to talk about what happened yesterday before I get into this...”

“No. I want to know what's happening here.”

“Well, you remember the Talon agent, Sombra?”

“Yes, she was with Gabriel that night you were captured.”

Angela explained her entire history with the hacker, starting from the night the woman helped her escape from Talon's clutches. She described the first time Sombra contacted her with information about Widowmaker and Anosov's involvement in her transformation from a loving wife into a cold-blooded killer. Finally, she finished her story with Sombra's latest message and the rundown warehouse located near a Russian city in the far north. 

Fareeha remained silent the entire time, with her eyes narrowing at certain parts of Angela's tale.

When Angela finished, Fareeha finally spoke, “I don't like this. This _Sombra_ has taken a lot of interest in you. Why? I agree with you that it seems like someone in Talon wants this guy gone from the picture but they don't want to piss off someone else in their group. Why go to you, though?”

Angela sighed, “Motivation. I want him stopped. Sombra knows how I'd feel about his research and experiments. She knows how I'd react to it. If I act on this, I feel like I'm playing into her hands.”

Fareeha grimaced, “I know. I don't like the idea of you doing Talon's work for them. They want this guy out of the way for a reason. But, what he's doing to innocent people...that can't continue. This is an opportunity to stop him and possibly discover some intel on Talon. Though, they aren't dumb enough to give too much away.”

“Your mother will be here tomorrow. The team will decide on a plan...”

“I want to go if you all decide to attack this base,” Fareeha interrupted with conviction in her voice.

“Fareeha, I'd rather you not get involved.”

“I am already involved. They want me dead.”

“Right, I think it's time you filled me in on that.”

Fareeha spent the next ten minutes detailing how she and her squad almost walked into a trap set by a Talon mole within HSI and how this mole tried to raise suspicious about her.

“You can't go back there, Fareeha. They're tenacious and won't give up,” Angela stated as soon as Fareeha finished her story.

“I know. But I don't want to leave my team while HSI is full of corruption.”

“You can't help them if you're dead. Convince them to leave or...” Angela hesitated. “I don't like this either, but maybe you should fight with us. Join us. You can help your friends in Helix by stopping Talon with Overwatch.”

Fareeha dropped her head and remained silent. Angela wrapped her arm around the woman's shoulders and pulled her closer. Fareeha rested her head against Angela.

“I thought you didn't want me to get involved?” Fareeha finally whispered.

“I just don't want to see you hurt but I know I can't stop you from fighting.”

They held each other in silence for a time until Fareeha leaned forward to pick up the shoe box she placed on the coffee table shortly after she arrived. She removed the lid and pulled out a blue beret, just like the ones her mother used to wear.

“What's in the box, Fareeha?” Angela asked while sitting forward to get a closer look.

“Just some of my mum's old stuff from when she was here with Overwatch. Reinhardt gave it to me as a present from her, since she couldn't make it for my birthday. Seems like she will after all.”

Fareeha smiled and handed the box to Angela. The box contained a few of Ana's old medals from her time in the military along with old photos from when Ana, Jack, and Gabriel first started off in Overwatch. She searched through more of them, finding a few pictures of a younger Fareeha sticking her tongue out while posing with various agents: Gabriel, Torbjörn, Liao... 

Angela looked through a few more photos and gasped when she discovered an old Halloween picture with her dressed up as a witch.

“I can't believe your mother kept this one. Looking back, that was such an embarrassing costume.”

Fareeha leaned closer to her. “But that's my favorite thing in that entire box,” she whispered. Her voice low and husky.

Angela thought it was a miracle they managed to last this long without ravishing one another. She theorized that would change soon.

Angela flashed Fareeha a teasing smile, “There's something even more exciting outside the box.” She leaned in close and started nibbling on Fareeha's ear, slowly licking the areas that drove her lover wild with desire. 

Fareeha moaned softly when Angela hit those spots just right. She returned the shoe box to the table and stood up to remove her jacket. Standing over Angela, Fareeha gently pushed her down onto the sofa and straddled her hips. She bent down and kissed Angela, with hands roaming over her breasts down to her hips. Fareeha's mouth left Angela's and begun tracing kisses along her chin and neck. 

“Fareeha, we could take this into my bedroom if you'd like. My bed is more comfortable...and larger.”

Fareeha leaned back away from Angela and stretched out her hand, “A sound strategy.” Her mouth teased Angela with a goofy smile. 

Angela giggled while grabbing onto her arm, “I also cleaned my bedroom for you so I wanted to get some use out of it.” 

“We'll put it to good use I'm certain,” Fareeha smirked as she pulled Angela up off the sofa. Angela wrapped her arm around Fareeha's midsection and led them to her bedroom. 

They made love for hours that night until exhaustion set in. The act was more tender than their previous sessions, due to what Angela believed was as a greater sense of familiarity and comfort between her and Fareeha. She never imagined feeling this with another person and it still frightened her, especially with all their troubles with Talon. 

But it was worth it.

* * *

Early the next morning, Angela woke up before Fareeha and left her lover lying in bed while she grabbed a shower. Her bedroom was still shrouded in darkness since the sun hid itself behind the horizon. After the shower, she returned to check on Fareeha who was now awake and propped up on her left side near the edge of the bed.

“Good morning, Fareeha,” Angela called to her. 

Fareeha answered with a sleepy smile. “Morning, Angela.”

“Since you're up, I'll make us some more tea and I think I have bread and jam.”

“Thanks. I'll grab a shower first.”

Angela walked over to the bed and kissed Fareeha on the forehead and brushed away a few stray locks of hair that covered her eyes.

She gazed softly into her lover's brown eyes, “I'll see you soon”

Angela left the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen, stopping along the way to turn on her laptop in the living room. She filled the tea pot with water and set it on the stove. Next, she searched her cupboards for bread. She found a few braided rolls that reminded her of the ones found in Switzerland. Now, she just needed the jam. Thankfully, there was a jar nearly full of strawberry jam in the refrigerator.

_Perfect_.

Angela was quite pleased with herself and started humming along to the song she had stuck in her head.

But then she heard a noise that froze the blood in her veins. 

Her apartment door beeped and she heard a loud _click_. Someone was opening the door. The only person with access was...

_Mei!_

_Scheisse, she must be home early!_

Angela panicked for a few seconds until realizing Fareeha was still in the shower. As long as Mei retired to her room right away and remained in there, she could sneak Fareeha out the door. She felt like a teenager trying to hide a lover from her disapproving parents.

Wait, but Mei would hear the shower from the living area...

_Damn_.

Thinking fast, Angela turned on a radio sitting a top the kitchen counter. She cranked up the volume, thankful that no other Overwatch agents lived in a nearby apartment. Only her lab was close by. 

Mei finally pushed open the door, carrying an armful of bags. Angela rushed over to help her.

“Angela, I was hoping you weren't up already,” Mei yelled over the music. “And why are you playing the radio so loudly?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, Mei. I like to listen to music while I eat breakfast in the morning. I didn't realize it was so loud,” Angela yelled in reply.

Mei tilted her head to one side, “Are you okay, Angela? You never listen to that radio?”

Angela grabbed a few bags from Mei's arms and turned towards her bedroom, “I'm fine, Mei. I only play music when you're not here. I'll take these to your room.”

“Thanks, Angela. Could you please turn down the music when we're done? I want to catch a few hours of sleep. Then I can tell you about my trip to Japan...or lack of a trip to Japan.”

“Sure, Mei.”

She hoped Fareeha's shower would be over by then. Angela set down Mei's bags on her bed and slowly walked back to the kitchen. She wanted to buy as much time as possible. The radio in the kitchen blared what sounded like a polka. It was anyone's guess who set the station. Angela never used the radio.

Angela pressed the off button. She listened for the sound of running water. 

_Silence_.

Relieved, Angela released the breath she held in her lungs. Mei was in her room now and wished to rest. She could probably get Fareeha out of here without her knowing... 

“Wait, who's jacket is this?” Mei called out from the living room.

_Fuck, Fareeha's jacket's still on the chair_.

“Oh, that's mine!” Angela answered while hurrying to the living room. “Mei, don't you think you should get some rest? Your trip must have been draining.”

Mei smiled, “Doctor's orders?” 

“Well, no but...”

Angela never answered. At that moment, Fareeha entered the room, buttoning up the blue shirt she wore yesterday. Her hair was still wet from the shower but she wore a towel draped over her shoulder. 

Angela felt her face burn hot. 

“Angela, what's with all the noise?' Fareeha asked but froze in place when she noticed Mei staring at her.

Mei looked from Angela to Fareeha, her scientific mind processing all the given parameters of the current situation. Her brown eyes finally rested on Angela. She started giggling but quickly covered her hands with her mouth.

“Angela, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you had a quest,” Mei winked at her. She surely figured out that the strange woman in their apartment was Angela's secret lover. “Well, are you going to introduce us?” 

Angela opened her mouth but no words came out. Mei didn't recognize Fareeha but she knew the name of Ana's daughter. Angela hesitated. 

Mei broke into another fit of giggling that lasted a couple of seconds before she composed herself and walked over to Fareeha.

“Hi, I'm Mei. Angela's roommate. I've heard so many good things about you. Sorry, I don't even know your name,” she held out her hand towards Fareeha. 

Fareeha shook Mei's hand and then glanced over at Angela; her eyes wide with shock. Angela knew she had to rescue the poor woman.

“Mei, this is Fareeha. And before you ask, yes, she's Ana's daughter. And, yes, we've been seeing each other.”

It was Mei's turn to look at her wide-eyed. “What? Angela, seriously? You've been dating Ana's daughter all this time? Does she know?”

“No, and we're trying to keep it that way,” Fareeha finally managed to say something.

Mei turned to Fareeha, “Right. Sorry. Don't worry. I won't say anything. I should leave you two to...whatever you were doing.”

Mei walked towards her room but as she passed Angela, she mouthed the words “Oh, wow” and shot her a devilish grin.

She would have a talk with the climatologist after she woke up.

After Mei left for her room, Fareeha approached Angela, drying her hair with a towel. “So...it could be worse. At least it wasn't my mom walking in on us. Are you okay Angela?”

“I'm fine. It's just a little embarrassing. Come, I have some tea for you.”

Fareeha followed Angela into the kitchen and they each poured a glass of tea and ate a piece of bread with jam. The tea made Angela's face feel even warmer. Fareeha's eyes teased her as she sipped from her cup.

“What's so funny, Fareeha?”

Fareeha finally released the laugh she held in, “You were so flustered, Angela. It's kind of adorable.”

“Might I remind you, I could at least speak...unlike yourself,” Angela quipped while she poured herself another cup of tea.

Fareeha's face suddenly turned serious, “I think I should tell my mum about us. She'll find out eventually. But only if you're okay with it.”

“She's your mother. It's your decision, Fareeha.”

“You have to work with her, though. I don't care what she says about us but I can't see her having a problem with it. She's always liked you. But you'd have to deal with her teasing you...”

Angela smiled, “I think I can manage. Tell her if you wish, Fareeha.”

“We should tell her together.”

A ringing noise from the living room put an end to their conversation. It came from Angela's laptop. She feared it was another message from Sombra. 

Angela walked over to the laptop and opened the lid.

The purple skull. A message popped up.

_In case you need motivation, I found someone else who hates Anosov. She really wants to speak with you. I said you'd be free in the next minute or so. I hope you're dressed! It's still pretty early there, right?_

_Fuck_. Angela regretted turning on her laptop.

“Is something wrong, Angela?” Fareeha called from the kitchen.

“Another message from Sombra. Apparently, another party involved in this mess will be contacting me soon.”

“Soon? How soon?”

Angela's laptop rang again. 

“Now.”

She studied the incoming message notification. A request to start a video call from none other than Katya Volskaya. 

Angela pressed the answer button. No point in keeping her waiting. The image of a sharply dressed woman appeared on her screen. Her face was stern and her hair pulled back tightly in a bun.

“Dr. Ziegler. I'm sorry to contact you at this hour, but it's urgent I speak with you. I received an anonymous tip that you've been researching a man by the name of Matvei Anosov. I've been hunting this ghost for many years, knowing he wasn't truly dead. He's a menace to my people and one of the leaders in Talon. I'm sure you know all of this. My informant assured me you have information on him. Is this true?”

“Ms. Volskaya, sorry. I definitely wasn't prepared for this. But first, who is this informant of yours?”

“As I mentioned already, it was anonymous. I'm trying to determine if it's valid intel.”

“So, you've never heard of a woman by the name of Sombra?”

Volskaya paused and Angela caught a slight narrowing of her eyes. 

“No, I've never heard of this Sombra person.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Angela, we need to do something about Sombra,” Fareeha replied the moment Angela ended the video call with Katya Volskaya. 

“Athena and I have tried everything to stop her accessing my computer. She always finds a way.”

Fareeha clenched her jaw and walked into the living room to sit on the sofa next to Angela. During the call with Volskaya, she stayed out of view while listening to their conversation. Angela denied the Russian businesswoman's request for Sombra's intel but agreed to a meeting with her in Saint Petersburg, the location of Volskaya Industry's main corporate offices. There, they would discuss a potential partnership with the goal of capturing Anosov. Angela convinced Volskaya to allow some other Overwatch agents to attend the meeting. She didn't refer to them as _Overwatch_ , of course, but “allies”. 

Fareeha watched in silence as Angela sent a message to Athena. She finally spoke after Angela closed her laptop, “And now, Sombra has Russia involved.”

Fareeha knew that Volskaya was _the_ premiere power in Russia even though they have a governing body. In these times, corporations, businessmen and women, hold most of the power in the world, even over politicians.

“Right, and Volskaya claims she doesn't know anything about Sombra, even though she was the one to send this intel to her,” Angela replied.

“Do you believe that, Angela?”

“I don't know. I have no reason to trust Volskaya but it's possible she's telling the truth and it was an anonymous contact. This is a mess.” 

Angela sighed and buried her face in her hands. Fareeha gently snaked her right arm around her lover's waist and pulled her close. Angela removed her hands from her face so she could return Fareeha's embrace, wrapping her arms around her. 

They held each other in silence for a few minutes before Angela mumbled against Fareeha's shoulder, “Do you really want to tell your mother about us today?”

With all the excitement involving Volskaya and Sombra, Fareeha forgot about the conversation she and Angela were having right before that all started.

“I don't remember specifying a time but today works for me, if you don't mind.” 

“Might as well. She'll likely be more upset with me for stealing some of her tea.”

Fareeha chuckled, “I bet you're right.”

* * *

Angela was right. 

Ana definitely noticed her tea supply ran a little lower than when she left Gibraltar a couple of weeks ago. After Lena arrived with her in the transport, Ana immediately made her way to the lounge in order to make a pot of her favorite tea. Fareeha left Angela's apartment in order to meet with her mother; she wanted to speak with her alone at first in order to gauge her mood. If Ana was really cranky, it might be best to hold off telling her about Angela...

Fareeha entered the kitchen area in the lounge and spotted her mother boiling water at the stove. She smiled when her mother turned to face her. Ana didn't return the smile, or greet her, or even wish her a happy birthday (even though her birthday wasn't until tomorrow).

“Did you have some of my tea, Fareeha?”

“Ah...yes, mum. Sorry.” 

Ana finally smiled and walked over to stand in front of Fareeha. She cupped both hands on Fareeha's cheeks, lightly squeezing her face, “I don't blame you, _habibti_. That cheap stuff Angela brought with her isn't tea. I don't even think she drinks it herself.”

Since her mother mentioned Angela, Fareeha debated whether or not she should tell her about their relationship. She initially wanted Angela to be present for this but with recent events, she now thought it might be best to tell her mother alone and not cause Angela more stress. Not that Fareeha wasn't feeling the stress herself, but Ana was her mother so it was her responsibility.

Fareeha decided to ease into the topic. “Angela's the one who made the tea for me.”

Ana removed her hands from her daughter's face, “Let me guess. It was too strong. Am I right?”

Fareeha nodded, “It was a little strong, yeah.”

Ana grinned smugly, “Serves her right for stealing my tea. I'll have to teach her how to make it. I'm sure you were too polite to mention it was too strong. Why was she making you tea, Fareeha? I never took Angela for the welcoming hostess type.”

_Here goes nothing_.

“She made it for me because we're dating, mum,” Fareeha blurted out. Her eyes scanned the room for others after realizing what she just admitted out loud. Luckily, no one else was in the lounge besides her and her mother. 

Ana looked her in the eyes for seconds before bursting out in laughter. It took her around twenty seconds to gather herself, “You and Angela? That's a good one. Now, tell me what's really going on.”

“Why's that so funny?” Fareeha pouted.

“Oh Fareeha, I don't mean any offense. It's just..Angela never seemed the type to go for romance...unless it lay at the bottom of one of her test tubes. She's practically married to her career. If you want to play that kind of joke on me, next time, pick someone else.” 

Fareeha rolled her eyes, “It's not a joke, mother. We've been dating for almost half the year now...sort of.”

Ana rubbed her chin and stayed silent for a few moments. Finally, she raised her left eyebrow as if realizing something, “I remember how eager Angela was to stay with you that night out in the desert, after we fought Talon.”

Fareeha jumped when hearing another person's voice from behind her and Ana.

“Oh, that's nothing. You should've seen how Ang used to moon all over Fareeha when she'd visit you from the army.”

Both Amaris turned towards the man who now leaned against the door frame. His arms were crossed and his signature cowboy hat shaded his eyes.

“Dammit, Jesse. How long have you been there?” Fareeha demanded.

“Long enough,” Jesse replied with a lopsided smirk. He tipped up the brim of his cowboy hat, revealing his smiling brown eyes.

“Jesse, you knew about them and didn't tell me? I'm hurt,” Ana mocked a frown. 

“Ma'am, I didn't know they were...you know, until just now,” Jesse replied and removed his hat and bowed towards Ana. “I just said Ang used to have a thing for Fareeha. Still does, apparently.”

Ana laughed. “Well, I didn't know that either. Angela was always so secretive with her personal life but I assumed she just wasn't interested in dating.”

Fareeha scowled at both Jesse and her mother. 

_It's wonderful they find this so humorous. Wait, Jesse said Angela used to have a crush on me years ago..._

That thought brought a hint of a smile to Fareeha's lips.

“I didn't know about this 'thing' either, Jesse,” Fareeha stated, with her face returning to the scowl.

“You should ask her about it,” Jesse winked.

“If I would have known about this back then, I could have helped poor Angela and set something up with you,” Ana replied, with a playful smile teasing on her lips.

“What? Mother, seriously?” Fareeha felt her face grow hotter.

Before Ana got the chance to reply, two more entered the lounge: Lena and Mei. 

“Hey, just the three I needed to talk to. Angela wants us all to have a meeting in a half hour so she can brief us on the Sombra thing. It's in the large meeting room down this hallway,” Lena explained, then started drinking from the cold bottle of water she carried.

“Is Angela also going to brief us on how she's been sleeping with my daughter?” Ana asked with a serious face but Fareeha could tell she was struggling to keep it that way.

Both Mei and Jesse started giggling. Lena's eyes grew wide in shock and she spat out the water in her mouth.

“Wot? Angela and Fareeha? Are you having a laugh?” Lena's accent shined through stronger than usual.

Ana chuckled, “I assume that's not part of her meeting agenda then.”

“I think they're both adorable together,” Mei interjected as she walked across the room to pour herself a cup of coffee. “Not that you asked for my opinion,” she added. 

“You knew about them?” Jesse asked.

Mei shrugged, “Just this morning when I discovered Fareeha in our place. I knew Angela's been talking to someone for a few months now. They seem to really like each other...not that it's my business.” She finished pouring her coffee and noticed everyone in the room staring at her. “And, I promised I wouldn't say anything. Sorry, Fareeha. Oh, um, I think I'll leave now.”

“Yeah, I think I'll join you,” Fareeha replied while walking towards the doorway where Lena was cleaning up the water she spat out moments before. This wasn't quite how she envisioned telling her mother about the relationship and now half the base knew. She needed some time alone before the meeting and hoped Angela wouldn't be angry with her. On the plus side, Ana seemed approving of them to the point of teasing Fareeha. Her mother often acted like that when she was in a good mood, making light of things. 

“Please don't leave, Fareeha. I still want to talk to you in...private. The rest of you can get out of here,” Ana ordered. Even though her mother was no longer a leader in Overwatch, everyone still respected her word and treated her as such. The others all said their farewells and filed out of the lounge. Fareeha could hear Lena and Mei giggling as soon as they turned the corner. 

Ana stepped closer and placed her right hand on Fareeha's cheek. “I'm sorry I laughed, Fareeha. It was just a little shocking. I'm happy for you...for both of you...as long as you're happy.”

“I am, mum,” Fareeha whispered. She felt her eyes growing wet. They way her mother looked at her with such sincerity moved Fareeha emotionally.

Ana pulled her into a hug, “Good. I'm still going to give Angela shit for stealing my tea.”

* * *

Fareeha never had the chance to tell Angela about the incident in the lounge before the meeting. She entered the large room and Angela smiled at her shyly when their eyes met. Fareeha returned the smile but weakly. She felt a little guilty. 

Angela sat at the head of the long table, with Torbjörn, Reinhardt, and Lena sitting near each other on the right side. Fareeha found a seat on the left side across from Lena, who winked at her when she sat down in a chair. Soon after, the others entered the room, with Jesse taking the seat to Fareeha's left, and Ana taking the seat to her right. Both gave her a knowing smile as they sat beside her.

_Great. They better not say anything to Angela during this meeting_.

When the group settled in, Angela shared her history with Sombra, beginning with her and Torbjörn's capture by Talon. Since most were familiar with this part already, Angela kept it brief. Any time Angela mentioned her name during the story, Fareeha caught Jesse and her mother smirking out of the corner of her eye.

Angela continued with her presentation by showing everyone in the room the latest intel retrieved from Sombra. She turned on the large, holo-projector and displayed the map of the Russian city, the blueprints to the old Volskaya warehouse, and finally, a picture of Matvei Anosov from at least ten years ago, before he “died”. She finished by detailing her entire conversation with Katya Volskaya.

When Angela finished, the group discussed their options. Everyone agreed that Angela should honor her word and meet with Volskaya but opinions varied on whether they should help attack the Talon base or not. Reinhardt wanted to take the fight to Talon and put an end to the evil man and his experiments. Lena agreed with him. Jesse and Torbjörn both advised caution. They worried about the potential for a trap and felt Sombra wanted to lead them there for a reason; a reason that benefited Talon and not Overwatch or Volskaya. 

To no one's surprise, Angela wished to join Volskaya in raiding the Anosov's Talon base. Fareeha sympathized; she'd be pissed too if someone did that with her life's work. Ana, Winston, and Mei remained undecided; they held the same reservations as Jesse and Torbjörn but felt they also couldn't let Anosov continue kidnapping and harming innocent people, even if they risked Talon gaining something.

Fareeha listened in silence during the debate. She felt unsure of her place as she was technically an outsider to Overwatch. But her mother had other ideas...

She turned to face Fareeha, setting a hand on her right shoulder. “You've been oddly silent this whole time, Fareeha. I'm sure you have an opinion.” 

“I do. But I'm not a part of Overwatch.”

Ana smiled, “Well, technically none of us are. Overwatch is dead and we're all just a bunch of criminals who want to stop Talon from destroying the world. Since you want to stop them too, your opinions are valued here. And, before you suggest it, I'm not just saying that because you're my daughter.”

Fareeha cleared her throat. She felt a swelling in her chest from her mother's words.

“Well, I don't trust Sombra but I also don't think this is a trap. If so, why get Volskaya and her forces involved? They likely want us to do their dirty work and remove this Anosov from the picture. Sombra knows Angela has a personal motivation for it, which is why she's going after her. On one hand, it would be wise to let Talon fight among themselves and not help them clean house. On the other hand, innocent people are suffering under Anosov's hand. The thing is, we're still uncertain about what Sombra or Talon actually hope to accomplish here but we can be certain what Anosov's doing...I've seen evidence of this myself. Which is why I think we should try to capture him alive and spare as many of his mind-controlled soldiers as possible. Angela possesses the capabilities to heal them.”

“Even Amélie?” Ana asked. 

“I believe so,” Angela jumped in. “Even though her modifications were far more extensive than the other agents we recuperated. It should be possible.”

“She might be too dangerous to capture, though,” Fareeha added.

Ana sighed, “You're probably right. Unfortunate. But I think you have the right idea, Fareeha. Focus on Anosov since he's the devil we know.”

Reinhardt's booming voice broke in, “Ha, I like this plan. We'll get the coward who forces others to fight his battles for him.”

“I still don't like it, but as long as Volskaya keeps her word...I've heard her people are tough,” Jesse added.

Ana spoke next, “I think it's best to finally settle this when we meet with the woman in person. That's tomorrow, right?”

Angela nodded. “Correct, Ana.”

“Well, Fareeha. You'll have to attend the meeting in my place. I'm going with you all to Russia but I'm not going to show up in Volskaya's office. I'm supposed to be dead. Think of it as another birthday present. By the way, did you like the shoe box full of my old junk?”

“Yes, I didn't get to say thanks so...thanks, mum.”

Ana whispered, “I bet there's a certain photo in that box you really appreciate.”

Fareeha covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled, “Shut up, mum.” 

She caught Reinhardt staring between them with a confused look on his face but he smiled when their eyes met. He probably doesn't know about her and Angela...yet. Ana would surely tell him by the end of the day or after this meeting. Fareeha looked over at Angela, who was busy reading over her notes. Good thing she missed that exchange between Fareeha and her mother.

Angela suddenly looked up from her notes to address the group, “I think for now, it's settled that most of us will leave for Russia later on tonight. Winston agreed to stay here with Athena but the rest of us will make the trip. Neither Ana nor Bastion will attend the meeting with Volskaya, for obvious reasons. Most Russians are still wary of omnics and Ana's dead.” 

Bastion beeped a few times after hearing its name. Torbjörn nodded his head at the omnic.

Everyone agreed with Angela's plans for tomorrow and the meeting was quickly adjourned to give the agents a chance to prepare for the journey up north. Fareeha lingered while the others left the room, hoping for a chance to speak with Angela in private. They all finally left...except for Ana.

“So, you have something to tell me, Angela?” Ana asked as she watched Angela pack up her notes and datapads. 

“I do?” Angela replied with eyebrows raised.

“I think you owe me some tea,” Ana answered, her tone dry.

Fareeha watched as Angela's eyes traveled to her and then back to Ana.

“Oh, I'm sorry, Ana. I'll give you some money for it.”

“No, forget about it. I'm happy to share with you. Why didn't you tell me you're dating my daughter?”

Fareeha groaned.

Angela blinked a couple of times, “I...don't know.” Her face turned crimson.

“I told her about us, Angela. I'm sorry.”

Ana huffed, “Don't apologize. I wish one of you had let me in on this secret sooner. Do neither of you trust me?”

Angela laughed nervously, “I do, Ana. But it's just—how would I even approach you about something like that?”

“ _Hey, Ana. I'm sleeping with your daughter_ doesn't work for you, Angela?”

Fareeha stayed silent and rubbed her face with both hands. She couldn't believe Angela and her mother were having this conversation. It felt like a bad dream.

“How do you know we're even sleeping together?” Angela asked while crossing her arms.

Ana chuckled, “So, Fareeha didn't stay with you last night?”

“She did but we watched movies and held hands. We kept at least a foot between us at all times,” Angela snarked back at Ana.

Ana laughed again, “Fine, fine. It's none of my business, right? I'm honestly happy for you both and I'll let you two spend some time together before we need to leave.”

She stood up from the table and patted Fareeha on the shoulder as she walked towards the door. “But don't get too cozy and miss the flight. Lena's not going to come back for you two.”

Ana finally left with only Fareeha and Angela remaining in the room.

“Yeah, that went...okay?” Fareeha tried to force a smile for Angela.

Angela walked over to Fareeha and simply kissed her on the lips. “I'm kind of glad I wasn't there when you told her. But she seems fine with us, considering she didn't run me out of the building.”

“She's happy but...a few others know too.”

“Who?”

Fareeha sighed, “Jesse and Lena. Mum will probably tell Reinhardt.”

Angela rubbed her chin, “Lena, hmm. That explains the strange looks she gave me while we waited for our meeting to start. Well, we couldn't hide this forever.”

“I do feel a lot better now that it's out,” Fareeha leaned over and kissed Angela. She pulled her lips away and paused to stare into Angela's clear, blue eyes for a few moments.

“We should go pack,” she whispered. Angela nodded. 

Fareeha suddenly remembered what Jesse told her earlier.

“By the way, I heard you used to have a little thing for me years ago when I was in the army.”

Angela rolled her eyes, “Jesse told you?” 

“Yeah. Why didn't you say anything then?”

“Do you really have to ask that? I was new and I worked for your mother.”

Fareeha smiled, “She told me today she would have helped set us up.”

Angela lifted her head to give Fareeha a quick kiss on the lips, “Your mother never ceases to surprise me.”

* * *

_One day later, Saint Petersburg, Russia_

The Volskaya building was massive; the tallest skyscraper that dotted the Saint Petersburg skyline. Fareeha craned her neck looking up towards the top of it as she approached the building with Angela, Torbjörn, and Reinhardt. The others remained behind in an old Overwatch safe house located in a small town outside the city. There, they awaited word from Angela on the results of today's meeting. In all likelihood, they would agree to assist Volskaya in attacking the Talon base, but plans change.

The group entered the lobby of the skyscraper. They were all decked out in a black business suit. Fareeha couldn't stop herself from stealing a glance or two at Angela—she looked amazing. Reinhardt caught her once staring at Angela with a dumb smile on her face. He simply smiled and went back to minding his own business. Ana told him about her and Angela, of course.

In the lobby, a woman in a dark red skirt and white blouse greeted them. She called to Katya Volskaya to inform her that Angela Ziegler and guests arrived. The woman led them to a private elevator, leading to the penthouse and Volskaya's private offices.

They rode the elevator in silence, with Angela smiling at Fareeha a few times. The ride seemed to last for an eternity but they finally stopped at the top floor. They exited into another lobby area and the woman in the red skirt led them down a hallway to the right. At the end of the hallway stood a large set of frosted glass doors; Fareeha assumed Volskaya's office lay beyond them. 

Once they reached the doors, their escort grabbed for one of the door handles and paused.

“This is Ms. Volskaya's office,” she whispered. “Do you have any questions before you proceed?”

Fareeha and the others shook their heads.

The woman nodded and opened the doors wide enough that Fareeha could get a good look at the inside of the office. It was _huge_ , of course, with a fair amount of empty space. The room was darkened in most places, but she could make out a large, unoccupied, desk sat on the left side of the room. She found the owner of the office at the center of the room, seated at a round table with her hands folded up like a tent. A few standing lamps lit the area surrounding the table.

“Please, come in, Dr. Ziegler and _friends_ ,” Katya Volskaya offered with a neutral face. As they approached the table, Volskaya motioned her hand towards four chairs that sat on the other side of the table from her. The businesswoman dressed in a white pants suit with a high collar and she wore her dark hair in a tight ponytail. Fareeha found it difficult to gauge the woman on her appearances alone. She looked like any other wealthy corporate type. Fareeha spotted a picture on the wall behind the table of Volskaya and a young girl, likely her daughter. It put her a bit at ease, knowing the stern businesswoman had a family she cared for.

“Thank you, Ms. Volskaya,” Angela replied as they each took a seat.

“You may call me Katya. I'm familiar with your other guests except for her,” Katya motioned her head in Fareeha's direction.

“This is Fareeha Amari. She'll lend us her military expertise...if we agree to aid you against Talon.”

“You're the daughter of Ana Amari, correct?” Katya asked and Fareeha nodded. “I never had a chance to meet her but she was a remarkable woman. I'm glad to see you want to follow in her footsteps. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Katya reached her hand across the table and Fareeha gripped it firmly. They shook hands.

“Speaking of military expertise,” Katya waved her hand as if beckoning someone towards her. Seconds later, a large woman with brilliant pink hair stepped out of the shadows to stand beside Katya.

“This is Aleksandra Zaryanova. She'll be leading my forces against Talon...if we can reach an agreement, of course.”

Aleksandra stood at ease and kept her hands clasped behind her back, “My pleasure.” 

Fareeha knew of this woman as one of the strongest in the world; a former weight-lifting champion turned soldier. She wore a dark blue casual military outfit that covered her entire body and hugged her muscles tightly.

Katya continued, “Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business.”

She explained her position and the importance of stopping Anosov. Apparently, most of the people he harvested for his twisted experiments came from his own homeland in Russia. Katya desired to put an end to his reign of horror. Angela couldn't agree more and provided her side of the story in more detail.

After an hour of discussing the situation, they finally came to an agreement. They'd assist Volskaya with capturing this vile man. She wanted him alive. 

They would meet again the next day to draft a battle plan. Volskaya wanted to move as soon as possible.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some violence and suicide mention. Just a warning.

Angela shut down her notebook computer after spending most of the night reviewing her notes on Anosov and his research. The others retired to their designated room at the Saint Petersburg safe house hours ago, including Fareeha. She and Angela were sharing a room. They no longer needed to hide their relationship; everyone knew by this point.

After turning off the lights in the main living area, Angela made her way towards their room. She slowly opened the door, smiling when she noticed Fareeha left a small table lamp on for her. She closed the door and tiptoed towards the bed; her eyes fixed on the peaceful face of her beautiful girlfriend the entire way. As she neared the end of the bed, Fareeha opened her eyes and smiled up at her through heavy lids.

“You're just getting to bed, Angela? What time is it?” Fareeha asked with a sleepy tone.

“I don't even know. It's late,” Angela replied while crawling over top of Fareeha. She buried herself under all the blankets and laid down behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her midsection. Angela snuggled closer until Fareeha's back rested against her chest.

“I'm sorry I woke you, Fareeha,” Angela whispered into Fareeha's ear.

“No, I'm glad you're here. You can keep me warm. It's so cold in this place.”

They were in Russia in the middle of winter with below freezing temperatures. Fortunately, the furnace in the old safe house still worked—after Torbjörn made a few fixes. In Angela's opinion, the temperature in the house was comfortable but poor Fareeha lived in a much warmer climate.

“This must be an awful way to spend your birthday,” Angela whispered before nuzzling against the back of Fareeha's neck.

“I've had worse. You should ask my mum about the clown incident when I was four,” Fareeha murmured. It sounded like she was close to falling asleep again.

“I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. In my defense, I only knew a few days ago. You should have told me sooner.”

“You gave me a few gifts the first night I arrived, remember?”

“Sex shouldn't count since that was a gift for me too.”

“The best kind of gift,” Fareeha mumbled sleepily. Angela stayed silent and enjoyed the feeling of her girlfriend's chest and back moving against her body with each breath as she drifted off. Soon, Angela joined her in slumber.

* * *

A full day passed since their first night in Russia—a day full of planning and preparing for the attack on Anosov's base. Now, they were ready to leave and Angela sat on a large aircraft carrier owned by Volskaya Industries, traveling northeast to Norilsk. The flight itself would take almost another day. Most of the Overwatch agents traveled in the same plane as Angela, along with a few of Volskaya's people. Fareeha, however, was in the other plane with Katya, Aleksandra Zaryanova, and the majority of their forces. They were probably making last minute tweaks to their plan.

Angela missed Fareeha already. Before, Angela was used to them living apart but something about these past few days made it feel more permanent—maybe because Fareeha was always there now; when she woke in the morning and when she fell asleep at night. This feeling wouldn't last much longer as their time together grew shorter and shorter since Fareeha only had days left of her vacation.

If she even returns to Helix.

Then there's the possibility they were all about to die in a Talon trap.

Another reason Angela missed Fareeha's presence: she would know what to say to comfort her about the mission and Anosov. Over the past week, Angela thought about that man a great deal and how she would handle meeting him face to face. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind...or fist. Angela rarely got angry or violent but...

He stole her life's work, her passion; the one thing she dedicated to her dead parent's memory. She wanted to save people for them. But this bastard twisted it and turned it into everything she despised...a means to harm and control people and propagate Talon's evil agenda.

She joined Overwatch again for this. She had to stop Anosov.

“Oh, there you are, Angela.”

Ana stood in the doorway to Angela's small cabin on the aircraft.

“May I join you in here? I'm trying my best to hide from the Russians on this plane. I heard you found a nice spot.” Ana stepped forward a little closer and removed the scarf that covered most of her face.

“Sure, Ana. Have a seat.”

“Thanks. I'll try not to bother you too much,” Ana smiled and then sat near Angela. “It looked like you were deep in thought and I'm sorry for interrupting. You weren't thinking about Fareeha, were you?”

“Yes. I wish she were here,” Angela replied. She felt jittery with Ana's hawk eye trained on her. The two of them never had the chance to discuss Angela's relationship with Fareeha since the reveal. Not that Angela wanted to...

“That's good,” Ana said with a smile still stretched across her lips.

“So, you approve of us?”

“Is there reason I shouldn't, Angela? Do you have a dark secret no one knows about?” Ana teased.

“No, I don't.”

“Hmph, how boring. I was hoping for something. I need a good reason to hate you for taking my daughter away from me.”

Angela chuckled, “I could never do that." She paused, "Well, I have nothing dark but...I have a few dirty secrets but I don't think you want to hear those.”

Ana’s face suddenly turned to stone and her eye narrowed.

_Oh, shit. I went too far with that joke…_

Before Angela could stammer out an explanation for her inappropriate comment, Ana burst into laughter.

“Oh, Angela. You should've seen your face. I'm sorry, I'll try to be more serious. So…” Ana moved over a seat closer to Angela, “...do you love Fareeha?”

 _Did she really just?_

Ana was so unpredictable at times. She loved keeping others on their toes.

“Ana! I...I wasn't expecting this!”

Ana held up her hands in front of her as a sign of surrender, “No, you don't have to answer that, Angela. I tried to get a feel for how serious this is but it's not my place. I'm sorry.”

“I don't even know how to answer that, Ana. Everything about this is so new to me.”

Ana patted her on the shoulder, “Me too. I’ve never met anyone Fareeha's dated. I would hear a name of some woman she was with but then that name changed the next time I saw her. But what should I expect when we barely spoke throughout her adult life.”

“I'm sorry, Ana.”

“Don't feel sorry for this old woman. I just want you to understand why I'm so eager to butt my nose into your business. I'm warning you now...it will only get worse.”

They sat together in silence for moments while Angela collected her thoughts. This wasn't the first time she mused over the 'L’ word when it came to Fareeha. Her previous reflections were empirical in nature. 

_Was there an average dating time period X where love happened? Would Fareeha expect it to happen around this time? What were the physical symptoms of 'love’? Sweating? Nausea? Rashes?_

She did know that growing closer to Fareeha over this the past year made her feel comfortable in the present and hopeful for the future. But love? What was it besides brain chemistry? There might be a way to quantify it with her nanoparticles...

Angela almost laughed at herself.

“You know, Ana, I don't mind you asking about us. I'm happy you two are closer again and it's only natural you'd want to know things. I just don't know how to recognize it...even though I'm almost thirty-eight years old.”

Ana laughed, “Oh, Angela. Always the scientist. You'll know when it happens. But you can't just stare at liquid in a test tube until it turns blue.”

Angela chuckled, “That would be too easy, wouldn't it?”

Ana gave her a warm smile, “And don't worry about your age. I'm in my sixties now and still learning things; like how to be a better mother.”

“I think you've been a good mother, Ana. Though, Fareeha wanted me to ask you about the clowns at one of her birthday parties. She sounded traumatized.”

Ana laughed, “Since we still have quite the trip, I can tell you all the good stories about her when she was young.”

* * *

Hours passed until the aircraft finally touched down on a runway owned by Volskaya on the outskirts of Norilsk. The pilot gave all passengers a half hour to gather their equipment and meet with the others in the large garage area southwest of the landing zone. From there, they would split off into teams and travel in a couple of all terrain vehicles to the site of the old Volskaya warehouse in the mountains. The local authorities knew to stay out of any business that involved Katya and her people, so they wouldn't be a problem. Katya herself remained behind in Saint Petersburg and they would send her updates as the mission progressed.

Angela agreed to stay with the core group of Volskaya's forces where she could provide her services as a field medic. Aleksandra Zaryanova, or 'Zarya' as she preferred, would lead this squad as they hit the Talon forces head on. Fareeha took charge of the Overwatch team. They planned to infiltrate the building using a network of maintenance tunnels that ran underneath. Snow and ice blocked the entry way, along with a steel door, but Mei and Torbjörn had plans for that.

The goal was to attack the Talon base on two fronts and trap Anosov within where they could capture him. Some of Volskaya's people would watch the perimeter of the area around the warehouse in case the man tried to escape.

One other mission detail: Angela insisted the soldiers carry a small pistol-like weapon that fired a sleeping dart similar to the technology Ana used. She wanted to avoid killing any of Anosov's people, believing them all brainwashed by his mind-altering technology. They would each carry a weapon with regular ammo, just in case.

As for Anosov, they agreed to capture him alive—if he allowed them. Katya believed he would cooperate if cornered. He gets to live and knows there's the likelihood his allies in Talon would break him out of any prison, similar to Doomfist. 

Angela equipped her Valkyrie suit and exited the aircraft with the other Overwatch agents. She noticed Ana covered her face again, to avoid drawing attention to herself. They gathered in the garage with Reinhardt the last one to arrive. It took him and Brigitte awhile to get his armor equipped.

Both squad leaders, Fareeha and Zarya, went over the plan again. They kept it short since the garage was freezing. Angela watched her own breath frosting in the air. When the briefing ended, Angela slung her Caduceus staff over her shoulder and followed Zarya's team towards the northern garage doors, where their vehicle waited outside. She stopped when she heard Fareeha call her name and turned around to face her.

“Fareeha, do you need to speak with me?”

Fareeha jogged closer to Angela. She wore a suit of black full body armor on loan from Volskaya. They also gave her a rifle that was currently slung over her shoulder. No rocket launcher or Raptora suit for her today. 

“I don't have anything to say but...” Fareeha's eyes searched around the garage before she leaned in and kissed Angela. “For luck.”

Angela smiled and stroked Fareeha's cheek under her eye tattoo. She pulled Fareeha closer and kissed her back, “One for me too.”

Fareeha returned her smile, “We should get ready with the others. I'll see you when we're done with this mess. Just be careful, Angela.”

“Only if you do the same,” Angela replied. 

The lovers parted and left the garage to join their respective squads.

* * *

They ascended a winding road and arrived at the rendezvous point a mile from the Talon base in the mountains. The trip took just less than an hour. Angela felt relieved when she could leave the cramped tank-like vehicle and stretch her legs. She grabbed her staff from the weapons storage compartment as well as two pistols: one with regular ammo and one that fired sleep pellets. She placed the latter in the holster on her left hip, the former in the holster on her back.

The ground team remained while the armored vehicles and small aircraft pushed on to remove any of Talon's perimeter defenses. Angela waited with Zarya and the Russian squad for a status update while Fareeha and the others stayed near their vehicle. She occasionally caught her lover sneaking a glance her way. Angela returned the looks with a small, reassuring smile.

Light snow began falling as another twenty minutes passed. Finally, one of Volskaya's pilots reported to Zarya that Talon's external defenses had been eliminated. Sombra's intel on them proved accurate after all. The attack alerted Talon to their presence but they could now safely approach the old warehouse. 

_Time to jump in the crowded tank again..._

The tank lacked windows so Angela couldn't watch their surroundings as they approached the warehouse. When the vehicle stopped, she quickly exited with the others, grabbing her staff from the storage again. She could barely see the outline of the large warehouse building through the falling snow, which grew heavier since they left the rendezvous point. Smoke billowed from some of the recently destroyed structures around the outskirts. A large fence running around the perimeter lay mostly in ruins from the initial attack. 

Oddly, no Talon forces were in sight. Angela wondered if they were fleeing at this very moment. Anosov would be the first to leave; escaping in a secret passage carved into the mountains, she figured.

The two main teams split off, with Fareeha's heading around the outside of the fence towards the location of the hidden maintenance passage way. Zarya's team marched through the main breach in Talon's defenses. As they neared the main gate, a small group of Talon soldiers flooded out of the front entrance. One of the Russian soldiers was wounded in the surprise attack but the rest of the team reacted quickly to neutralize all the ambushers. Angela healed most of the injured soldier's injuries with her staff. He decided he felt well enough to continue.

After the skirmish, Zarya contacted the other team via radio to check in on their status. 

“Amari, this is Zarya. We are in position to breach the front gate and enter the building. Were you successful with infiltrating the maintenance tunnels? Over.”

Angela heard Fareeha's voice over the radio, “Affirmative. We're in the tunnels making our way to the main floor. Amari out.”

“Alright, we're going in. Everyone stand back from the gate,” Zarya ordered. 

Angela joined the others, including Zarya herself, in moving about fifteen meters away from the main gate. Zarya readied the large cannon-like weapon she carried. She braced her knees and fired a dark indigo ball from the cannon that moved in an arc towards the gate. Upon hitting the surface, the ball expanded. Angela couldn't believe her eyes when the gate began collapsing in on itself. The piercing screeches of metal pressing hard against metal was painful to her ears. 

The gravity ball eventually dissipated, leaving the pieces of the gate crushed into a compact ball.

Zarya placed the front end of her cannon on the ground and leaned against its top handle. She smiled smugly at Angela,

“Now you see why we must stand far from the gravity bomb. You don't want to get caught in that, Doctor. Or should I refer to you by your call sign, Mercy?”

Angela nodded, “Mercy is fine. Just give me fair warning anytime you're going to do that.”

Zarya laughed, “Not anytime soon. The Tobelstein will need to recharge.”

Zarya stopped leaning on her cannon and motioned for her troops to follow through the now opened main gate and to the warehouse doors. No gravity bombs needed here; Zarya simply kicked down the front doors. The Russian woman activated what appeared to be a pink personal shield that surrounded her body and then led the charge into the first room. A few more Talon soldiers greeted them but they were no match for Zarya's group. These soldiers still moved sluggishly, no different from the ones Fareeha fought nearly a year ago in Egypt. If this building was full of Anosov's altered soldiers, Angela predicted that Zarya's people should have no problems with them.

As they continued moving through the building, they fought more of Anosov's forces but easily defeated them. Angela's prediction proved correct. She hoped Fareeha and the others were having the same luck on the other side of the building.

The fighting died off after they cleared out a narrow hallway containing a few Talon troops. This area seemed to lead to the labs. 

Still no sign of Anosov himself. 

Zarya decided to split up the team to search for him. Angela would join her and two others. The rest broke off into a few more groups. Angela suggested they start in the laboratory, partially out of her own curiosity. She wanted to see what he's done with her research.

The group entered the doors leading to the largest of the laboratory's rooms. Surprisingly, it looked like any other bio-medical research facility Angela herself might have worked in years ago. Beakers and test tubes still aligned the top of some of the workbenches, as if the scientists quickly abandoned their work when the alarm sounded. 

_Did they escape with Anosov already?_

Angela desperately wanted this nightmare with Anosov to end. If he escaped, she'd have to keep hunting him until he could be brought to justice.

“Mercy, you have to see this,” Zarya called out from the other side of the lab.

Angela rushed over to join Zarya, who stood in front of an open door. She looked inside the adjacent room. A dormitory area with bunk beds lining the walls parallel to her. On the floor, in the middle of the room, lay a group of bodies in white lab coats. The scientists who worked here took their lives to evade capture. Angela doubted Anosov would be among them.

“They ingested a pill to poison themselves and avoid capture,” Angela stated.

Zarya nodded, “We'll return for them after we're done searching the place. We need to find Anosov.”

“Agreed. I'll search the rooms over on the far side.”

“We'll try the other end of the hallway. Contact me if you find anything, Mercy.”

Angela left Zarya and began her search. She removed the pistol from her left hip, the one with the sleep darts. 

She opened the first door and found a storage room containing shelves filled with large, glass, chemical containers. Nothing of interest. 

On to the second door. She opened it and the room appeared to be empty but a wall to the left blocked her view. She heard a deep voice speaking Russian from somewhere around the corner of that wall. The man sounded angry.

He switched to English.

“Widowmaker, where the hell are you at? Why are you ignoring my summons? Dammit.” The man continued swearing in his native tongue. 

Angela slowly peeked her head around the corner of the wall. The room extended out much further than she expected—about as long as the main lab room. At the far end, a large blue force field covered the entire wall with a man trapped behind it, his back turned to Angela. The rest of the room was empty minus a few crates.

Angela raised her pistol and approached the force field cautiously. The man turned to face her after he heard her footsteps. She immediately recognized him from her pictures as Matvei Anosov. 

The man's appearance remained constant over the years. Angela expected him to resemble a mad scientist from an old cartoon but he looked like an average business man, dressed in an expensive suit and tie. The only thing that stood out about him was the illuminated red cybernetic parts that adorned his forehead near the temples.

Anosov snarled at Angela when he finally saw her and spat a few angry sentences in Russian. She kept her pistol trained on him, creeping towards his cage.

“I'll try again in English. Who the hell are you? Are you responsible for invading my laboratory?” Anosov demanded.

“You should know who I am. All of this research in _your_ laboratory, you copied from mine,” Angela replied, barely keeping her voice from shaking. 

Anosov glared at her for seconds and then started laughing, “Ah, Dr. Ziegler. I wish you would have told me you were coming. I would have prepared a proper welcome. Also, I didn't just 'copy' anything from you...I took it places you're weak mind could never dream of.” His eyes roamed over her armor. “And what are you wearing? Is that your 'angelic' field medic suit you developed years ago. I see you're still full of yourself.”

“I'm full of myself?” Angela yelled. Her hands started shaking. “You have no right to accuse me of that when you...I know what you're doing here...to these people. You're vile and I'm here to stop this!”

Anosov grinned and held two fingers up to his ear. “Widowmaker. Finally! I'm in extra storage room near the lab. You know the one. I order you to my position. Kill all intruders in your way. They won't be a match for you.”

He removed his hand from his ear. “My personal assassin is on her way. You've heard of her, yes? If you retreat now with your people, you might have a chance of making it out of here before she finds you.”

“You're bluffing,” Angela accused, her pistol still trained on Anosov.

“We'll see, Angela,” Anosov's smile turned sinister. “It's been awhile since we spoke. Not like we did that much back then. Are you still the same stuck up bitch you were in medical school? You were always too good for the rest of us.”

Angela hated to admit that Anosov was correct in some ways. In the past, she preferred her solitude and avoided other people around her, whether in school or in Overwatch. But this man was the last person who had the right to judge her. 

“I had my reasons but I don't need to justify myself to you.”

“Yes, yes. I've heard the sob story about your parents. You still won't get any sympathy from me.” 

“You have none to give, Anosov.” 

Angela turned on her communicator and connected with Zarya's line. She kept her eyes on Anosov, in case he tried anything.

Not that he could do much... 

“Zarya, it's Mercy. I've found Anosov trapped behind a force field. He won't be escaping anytime soon.”

She heard Zarya roaring with laughter over the line, “Ha, how did you manage that?”

“I didn't. I found him like this.”

For the first time, Angela wondered how the hell this supposedly 'brilliant scientist' managed to trap himself. 

Anosov rolled his eyes at her.

“He's doing our work for us. Katya can thank him later after we capture him. I'm on my way to you, Mercy...”

“Hold on. We have a problem. He's summoned Widowmaker. She could be anywhere. Just be careful and be on the look out for the sniper.”

“I will. Zarya out.”

Anosov sneered at her, “ _Mercy_ , really? You make your people call you that? Angela, you are a pathetic joke. I always wondered...why did Overwatch recruit you over someone more qualified? Like me, for instance. Did you bat your eyelashes an excessive amount in your interviews?” 

“So, that's what this is about. You're jealous of me?” Angela smirked.

The man's motives started falling into place. She still barely remembered him or knew Overwatch once considered him to head their medical research division. She never met any of the other candidates and assumed she was the only one. Looking back at her younger self, Angela would agree she was too self-absorbed. But she changed for the better while Anosov only got worse.

“I was jealous before. Now. I don't care about you. You'll be dead when my assassin arrives and nothing but a distant memory. A cautionary tale to not let morals block scientific progress.”

“Your assassin must be taking her time. By the way, I'm curious. How did you trap yourself, Anosov?”

Anosov sighed, “There's a panel on this wall behind me that hides an escape tunnel. The panel malfunctioned. The force field is meant to prevent anyone from following. That _is_ still operational, as you can see. Someone sabotaged my escape system and they will pay for it.”

 _Sombra_. 

“I have a feeling you had help from someone on the inside. How else would your incompetent group know about this place? Am I correct, _Mercy_?”

_Time for a bluff of her own._

“It's true. And your Widowmaker is one of them.”

Anosov laughed quietly, “Nice try. I know she's mine and always will be. Widowmaker only answers to me in Talon, and me alone. She's my finest creation, you know? Can you believe my superiors in Talon wanted to kill her along with Gèrard? You knew Gèrard, right? I hated that man. I was in charge of her conditioning when we kidnapped her. In just two weeks, I found a way to force a loving wife to murder her own husband. I saw the potential for more and she became my pet project, eventually helping me seize power within Talon. If only Gèrard could see her now. He deserved it.”

_No, Gèrard never deserved it. And what about Amèlie? She definitely didn't deserve this._

Angela felt her muscles tense and her hands started shaking again. This man was despicable and they intended to capture him. 

Regrettable. 

No, he didn't deserve a chance to escape prison or worse, have his team of lawyers find a loophole and exonerate him for his crimes. 

“How do you remove the force field?” Angela asked, keeping her voice calm in spite of the rage building throughout her body.

“Why? You're not going to let me go, are you?”

“I will if you call off your assassin and allow us to leave. I'm willing to offer you the mercy you've never shown another. Just remember this second chance I'm giving you.”

Anosov grinned, “Fine.”

“Call off Widowmaker, now. Do it.”

Anosov reached towards the communicator in his ear again. “Widowmaker, this is Anosov. Change of plans. Meet me in the hangar. We're leaving.” He narrowed his eyes at Angela, “There. The controls for this force field should be on that wall behind the stack of crates. The password is a series of numbers.”

Angela returned her pistol to her left hip and slid the crates away from the panel and opened it, revealing a holographic screen with a keypad beside it. Anosov recited the numbers and she entered them in order. A menu appeared on the screen; the only options were turn off the force field or exit the system. 

_I hope my parents would forgive me for this_.

Taking a deep breath, she selected the option to shut down the force field. It blinked a few times before vanishing. 

Angela reached behind her back to grab her other pistol. As she predicted, Anosov lunged at her when the field dropped. Angela aimed her pistol at his chest and fired. His body jerked back from the bullet's impact but he remained standing. She fired a few more times until he dropped. His blood started pooling on the concrete. 

Angela walked over to his body. His glaring eyes burned into her. A sight she would never forget, “Fuck you, Ang...” He coughed up blood. “ I hope you...I hope...”

“This is what you deserve,” she growled at him.

“How dare you judge...” his death cut off the final sentence.

Angela returned her pistol to her back. Her eyes watered and her mind raced. 

She felt numb all over. 

_I can't believe I just..._

_It was necessary. He can't harm anyone else ever again_. 

_The Russians won't be pleased. Where are they?_

Angela was almost certain Anosov lied about Widowmaker but what if he told her truth and the assassin found Zarya's team? She drew her pistol again, just in case. She walked towards the entry to the room and almost ran into Zarya right outside the entrance.

“Mercy, I apologize it took us longer than it should have. We found another scientist alive and captured him. But Anosov isn't going anywhere, right?” Zarya chuckled.

“He's dead,” Angela answered weakly.

“Dead? How is he dead?”

Zarya pushed past Angela and entered the room. She stopped as soon as Anosov's lifeless body came into her view. She turned to Angela,

“You shot him?”

“I did. I'll take full responsibility for this.”

“Katya won't be happy. Did he attack you?”

“Yes but after I removed the force field. I just...the thought of him ever escaping and doing this again. I couldn't risk that. His future victims don't deserve that. He deserves this,” Angela glared at Anosov's body on the floor.

Zarya's eyebrows raised slightly, “Between us, I think he deserved this too. But we had our orders to capture him alive.”

“As I said, tell Katya that I take full responsibility. Wait, Zarya...did you see Widowmaker at all? Before Anosov knew I was here, I heard him having difficulties reaching her. Then all of a sudden, she contacts him. He ordered her to rescue him and kill us. I think he was lying but I had him call her off in exchange for releasing him.”

Zarya shook her head. “No. He was definitely bluffing. Why would he let you open the force field if she was coming to his rescue? It was risky...” Zarya's eyes traveled to Anosov's body, “...which means he was desperate and the Widowmaker wasn't coming for him.”

“Right. But she's here somewhere. She has to be.”

Angela felt her heart race in her chest. What if Widowmaker found Fareeha's team? If she ambushed them?

“Have you heard from Fareeha?” Angela asked.

“No, I'll check in on them.”

Zarya activated her suit's commlink. “Amari, do you read me? It's Zarya.” 

The line remained silent for an eternity.

“Amari?” Zarya tried again.

 _Fuck_.

Angela clutched her pistol tighter. “We need to find them, now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated about writing this chapter like this but I did it.


	17. Chapter 17

_Falling_.

Fareeha braced her body for impact, unsure what lay at the bottom of the dark tunnel she accidentally fell into during her search of the Talon base. Her mother was somewhere behind her at the time; hopefully she avoided the same fate.

_Ooof!_

Fareeha finally landed but something broke her fall and it reeked of rot. As she struggled to prop herself upright against it, she heard crunching and squishing sounds. She turned on a small flashlight resting against her armor's belt. Her eyes scanned the small room, confirming her suspicions. She fell down into a garbage chute. 

Fareeha silently chastised herself for not being more careful and reached for the communicator in her ear. 

It was gone. 

She removed the back up she carried in a leather pouch on her belt. 

It was dead. 

_Wonderful_.

Would she be trapped her until someone found her? What if that someone was in Talon? She needed to get out of here. 

Fareeha explored the room filled knee-deep with garbage. Eventually, she found a small panel that covered another crawlspace.. 

“Here goes nothing.”

She climbed up through the entrance and started crawling along. It was surprisingly roomy in there. It troubled Fareeha not knowing where it led but it was better than waiting with the dirty trash. She could still smell it on herself. 

This current predicament made Fareeha think of an old spy movie she once watched where the hero climbed through building vents to get the jump on the bad guys. She wished for that kind of luck, hoping the bad guys didn't get the jump on her.

She crawled ahead for a few more minutes before spotting a sliver of light ahead. Fareeha slid her body along the passage as quietly as possible as she approached the source. On the bottom surface of the crawlspace, rested a grate covering an opening large enough for her to fit through. She placed her head close to it and listened for sounds coming from the room below. It was silent.

Fareeha carefully lifted the grate off of the opening and paused again to listen for signs of life. Confident no one was nearby, she withdrew her side-arm from its holster and dropped down from the passageway. The small room was empty minus a shelf and a table filled with metal scraps and other random junk. Fareeha grimaced as she walked towards the door. Her side hurt a little from the fall but she had no time to do anything about it now. Alone, lost in a Talon facility, she needed to find a way back to the others. 

Fareeha opened the door and crept out of the room. Unsure in which direction to go, she turned right and walked down the dim hallway, with her flashlight in hand. It appeared she was an underground garage area. Peeking in some of the other rooms along the hallway, she discovered most filled with tools and parts of vehicles.

Fareeha froze in her tracks when she heard light footsteps and voices ahead of her in the hallway. She quickly turned off her flashlight and ducked into the nearest room. It was doorless, so she made sure to hide around the corner of the entryway.

“Sombra, I need to stop for a moment. I'm still feeling weak from the drugs,” the voice was low but confident and demanding; a woman's voice with a distinctive French accent.

“I warned you they'd make you groggy for awhile. But we have to get out of here soon. The boss is waiting for us in the hangar. We have both Overwatch and Volskaya's people raiding this place right now,” the other woman spoke, who Fareeha assumed was Sombra. “You should be happy, Lacroix. You'll have your freedom soon.”

“Don't patronize me, Sombra,” the other woman shot back. “This freedom you speak of is an illusion. I'm still Talon's slave with a different master holding the chains.”

“Alright, Lacroix. Just speak with him. It'll be your choice.”

“I doubt that.”

“You'll see. We really need to get going, though.”

Fareeha's teeth clenched as she heard the two women continue walking down the hallway past the room. She'd love more than anything to take on both of them right now. She hated Sombra for the brazen way in which she harassed Angela since the night of her rescue from the Talon base. Then there was Lacroix or 'Widowmaker'—the traitor who almost killed her mother. Fighting them now was too dangerous and she didn't like the odds—two of them and one of her. Even though Widowmaker seemed weakened by a recent treatment of drugs, she would still be deadly.

Instead, she planned to follow them at a distance and gather some intel on their reasons for being here in the first place. Fareeha inched towards the doorway but stopped when Widowmaker spoke,

“Ugh, what is the horrid stench?”

_Shit, she probably smells me._

“Uh, they keep all garbage from the upper labs and kitchens down here,” Sombra answered.

“Speaking of garbage, where is that foul little man? Did they capture him yet?”

Sombra chuckled, “Oh, Anosov? Yeah, he's definitely not going anywhere. I made sure of that. His security system kinda backfired on him.”

“I'd rather just kill him myself than allow him to be captured,” Widowmaker replied coldly.

“It doesn't matter. He's going to be out of the picture either way. We really need to keep going.”

Fareeha peeked around the corner of the doorway and saw the silhouette of the two women walking away from her down the dimly lit hallway. Sombra was easily noticeable from the purple glow given off from the cybernetics on her head. The other woman, Widowmaker, was slouched over slightly and leaning against Sombra. Fareeha followed behind, making sure to hide in the shadows or in a nearby room as she advanced with them.

The two Talon operatives eventually reached the end and turned right into another hallway. Natural sunlight lit the end of this one. From what Fareeha could make out, the hallway opened into a large hangar built into the side of the mountain. 

Sombra and Widowmaker descended a set of stairs lower into the hangar. Fareeha followed them to the area near the stairwell but remained at the top. She found a crate to crouch behind while she spied on them from above. 

A small, shiny, black aircraft sat in the middle of the hangar. From behind her crate, Fareeha watched as the two women approached a large man in a white suit; two armed Talon soldiers flanked him on both sides. She immediately recognized the man as Akande Ogundimu: the current Doomfist. His face had been plastered all over the news since his breakout from a high-security Helix prison.

“Greetings, Madame Lacroix. Do you remember who I am?”

“You are the one they called 'Doomfist'. I heard you were in prison,” Widowmaker answered weakly. Fareeha could barely hear her from her position.

“You heard correctly, but I'm a free man now. I thought I'd return the favor. Gabriel filled me in on your work with Talon and Anosov in these past years. I must admit, I'm impressed, Lacroix. But I feel your potential has been limited so far.” 

“Get to the point. What do you want with me?” Widowmaker interrupted.

“Yes, I won't waste your time. We'll get right down to business. I want you to join me and my people in Talon. I won't force your loyalty like Anosov. That man will be finished after today. He weakens us all with his army of mindless slaves, so I'm removing him. Sombra, he's been neutralized?”

“Let's say, I left him as a little present for Dr. Ziegler and Katya. Wait, I can get you a live feed of him. He should be stuck behind a force field near his lab,” Sombra replied. 

They were all silent for a few moments. From her position, Fareeha couldn't see the holo-feed Sombra showed the others. 

“He's dead,” Fareeha heard Doomfist speak first.

“Yeah, looks like it. I wonder who did that?” Sombra asked. “Hold on, I can rewind this footage. Just give me a few seconds and...there.” Sombra paused as they watched. “Oh, I don't believe this. Ziegler killed him. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.” 

“Interesting,” Doomfist added. “It's for the best. I won't have to worry about him ever again.”

“I wanted to kill him,” Widowmaker stated. Her voice emotionless.

Sombra chuckled, “When your free, you can write Ziegler an angry letter. So, are we getting out of here? Where the hell is Gabriel?”

“He's coming,” Doomfist answered. “As for you, Lacroix. You can either join us willingly or stay here. Perhaps some of your old friends in Overwatch will go easy on you? Even if you leave with us, you're free to go and live as you wish. I won't force your loyalty like that coward Anosov but I think you can accomplish many great things with us. It's your choice.”

Widowmaker remained silent for almost a minute before answering, “I'll join you. But I refused to be drugged and prodded anymore.”

“I promise. Shall we wait in the plane until Gabriel joins us? We can discuss this is more detail.”

Fareeha peeked her head around the corner of the crate and watched as the group turned away from her and walked towards the aircraft. 

“So, Lacroix. What are you're plans now? You can do pretty much anything you want now,” Sombra asked as they ascended the ramp leading into the plane.

“Since killing Anosov is off the list, I plan to take back my family's château.”

“Wait, you own a château, really?”

“Not at the moment. It will be mine soon.”

“Hey, can I come visit you there sometime?”

“No.”

The hatch closed and they disappeared inside the aircraft. Fareeha's head still spun from all the information she learned from them. This entire mission was a setup to remove Anosov from power, orchestrated by none other than Doomfist himself. She suspected this even before they left Gibraltar. But none of them knew this was all actually a ploy for Doomfist and his crew to swoop in and take Anosov's greatest asset for themselves: Widowmaker.

It was frustrating and unfortunate they helped Doomfist but at least Anosov no longer threatened innocent people. Fareeha's thoughts turned to Angela. She must feel awful about killing the man even if necessary. Fareeha still wished they could have captured him instead, hoping for his cooperation in weakening Talon. However, she understood why Angela killed him and trusted her instincts.

Volskaya may not be so understanding.

Fareeha remained crouched close to the ground and sneaked away from the hangar. When far enough away from the aircraft's line of sight, she stood upright and continued walking down the hallway towards the place she first heard Widowmaker and Sombra. She figured following where they came from would lead back to the upper levels of the base.

As she passed near the entrance to the room she hid in earlier, a shadow leapt out in front of her path. She cried out as it slammed her against the wall, pinning her there at the shoulder. The barrel of a shotgun pressed hard against her cheek. She saw the white mask.

_Reaper_.

Fareeha's blood ran cold. She felt like death with him so close, similar to that night in Egypt.

“Why are you here, Fareeha? I warned you to stay out of this!” Reaper demanded.

“I stopped listening to you when you turned traitor,” Fareeha barked at him with the shotgun still pressed against her face.

The white mask drew closer to her face, “Last warning. You know Talon wants you dead. If you return to Helix, you won't have long and I can't stop them. Why don't you listen to your mother for once? You can do better than the life of a soldier. Go live with your father and stay out of this.”

“No, I won't let Talon get away with this...even after I leave Helix. You might as well just kill me now, Gabriel, and get it over with!”

Reaper loosened his grip on Fareeha's shoulder and eased the shotgun away from her face. “I won't be the one to do that. Someone else will take care of it.” 

“Why?” Fareeha asked.

“To me, you'll always that kid who watched movies with me. The one I taught how to dribble a basketball. To the others, you're nothing but a nuisance. They won't hesitate.”

Fareeha's throat tightened as she remembered some of those moments she spent with Gabriel as a little girl. He was a hero to her, just like the others, but he was also down to earth and fun to hang around. 

_What the fuck happened to him?_

Before Fareeha could reply, she heard her mother's voice from behind Reaper. “Gabriel, unhand my daughter. If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and believe me when I say this. Whatever Talon did to you, to turn you into this, will pale in comparison to what I'd inflict on you.”

Reaper moved away from Fareeha and walked a few steps backwards towards the hangar. He raised his shotguns at her mother.

“Ana, what a nice surprise. If you didn't hear, I told Fareeha to look out for herself and stay away from this.”

“She won't do that, Gabriel. And you can put those guns away. I know better than to try anything. You'll just turn to smoke and run away. And you wouldn't kill me in front of Fareeha, would you?”

“No, I'd rather kill you in front of Jack...right before I kill him.”

“I'm glad to see you're still reasonable, Gabriel,” Ana replied dryly. “What are you doing here?

“I was just leaving, Ana.”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“I'm not going to,” Reaper growled.

A noise coming from Reaper's armor interrupted their banter. He raised his right wrist to his face mask.

“Reaper here.”

“Gabriel, where are you? We're going to leave without you.”

“I'm on my way, Akande.”

Ana rested her sniper rifle against her shoulder. “Well, you don't want to keep your new friends waiting, Gabriel.”

He ignored Ana's comment and turned to walk away from them. After a few paces, he stopped and called back to them.

“Next time we meet, you won't survive, Ana.” 

Both Fareeha and Ana watched in silence until Reaper disappeared.

“Mum, what are you doing here?” Fareeha finally asked.

“I'm looking for you, of course. I wish you would have broken a leg when you fell. Would've saved me some of the trouble in finding you.”

“How did you get down here? You didn't fall?”

“No, Torbjörn lowered me down with some rope, into the garbage. And now I stink...just like you.”

“Think of it as another chance for us to bond.”

Ana smirked, “Good point. Before I forget, I need to call Lena and let them know I found you. Angela especially. She's worried Amélie caught you.”

Ana switched on the comm in her ear and gave Lena the good news. They chatted for around half a minute before Ana asked, 

“Is Angela there? Give her the news for me.”

“She's busy on a holo-call with Volskaya and Zarya,” Lena answered.

“Alright, Lena. I'll keep this line open so you can help guide us out of here.”

“Will do, Captain Amari.”

Ana turned off her comm.

“I'm ready to get out of here if you are. I'll fill you in on what happened before our run-in with Gabriel,” Fareeha stated while holstering her pistol. 

Ana nodded and waved her hand for Fareeha to follow. She guided them through the labyrinth of hallways under the warehouse. Fareeha described to Ana how she almost ran into Widowmaker and Sombra and their encounter with Doomfist. Ana remained silent during the story, only shaking her head a few times. 

They eventually reached a stairway that led to a wall. It looked like a dead-end.

“There's supposed to be a secret door here,” Ana claimed. “I wonder if this button here will open it.”

Before Fareeha could yell at her mother to not press the button, she pressed it. A panel in front of them slowly opened out into a large room. Fareeha stepped forward, greeted Lena and Torbjörn's smiling faces.

“Ah, there you are luvs!”

Fareeha turned around into the secret passage towards Ana. She caught her mother putting on a face mask before exiting to join the others.

“Ugh, what is that smell?” Torbjörn asked.

“It's us...we both need a shower,” Fareeha answered. “Where's Angela?”

“She's still in her meeting with Volskaya,” Lena responded.

Fareeha finally noticed a body covered in a white sheet in the middle of the floor.

“Is that Anosov?”

“Yes,” Lena's face turned somber. 

Ana touched Fareeha's shoulder. “We should find some place to clean up around here.”

Fareeha nodded and they exited the room together.

* * *

Volskaya's forces managed to secure the Talon warehouse and capture most of Anosov's soldiers. Considering they had an unfair advantage, the fight was incredibly one-sided; no casualties on their side. Except for Widowmaker escaping with Doomfist, Fareeha felt satisfied with the mission.

Fareeha and Ana found a dormitory area with some showers where they could clean up. One of Volskaya's soldiers provided them each with soap and a fresh uniform.

Ana took a shower first while Fareeha stood guard outside. At this point, she worried more about the Russian soldiers recognizing Ana more than anything else and would make sure to keep them away until Ana finished cleaning up and covered herself up again.

“Fareeha!”

Hearing her name, Fareeha stopped leaning against the wall and turned towards the source. It was Angela. She rushed over to Fareeha and jumped into her arms without a word.

“I'm so glad you're safe, Fareeha. Are you hurt?” Angela whispered against her neck.

“No. I just smell really bad,” Fareeha replied softly. She realized her side no longer bothered her. She even forgot that it hurt after the fall.

Angela chuckled, “I noticed. I don't care.”

She pulled Angela tighter and the other woman relaxed in her arms.

“I could fall asleep right here.”

“You can sleep all over me but after I wash up. Are you okay, Angela?” Fareeha asked.

“No,” Angela released her hold on Fareeha and looked up at her with sad blue eyes. “We can talk about it later. I'll let you clean up. I need to check in on some of Talon's people who were injured.”

“Before you go...” Fareeha brushed Angela's bangs away from her eyes and kissed her tenderly.

* * *

A few hours passed before Fareeha found herself on an aircraft traveling back to Saint Petersburg with the others. This time, she traveled on the same plane with Angela. They found the cabin Angela stayed in on the trip to Norilsk where they could spend some time alone and talk.

They never had the chance to speak much about the mission as Angela fell asleep on Fareeha's shoulders shortly after they found a seat in the cabin. Fareeha felt tired herself but had trouble sleeping. She withdrew her phone from her pocket to check the news and reply to a message her dad sent yesterday. 

Fareeha read the news for a half hour until Ana entered the cabin and tip-toed over to Fareeha's side.

“I just wanted to check in on you two,” Ana whispered as she sat next to Fareeha. “I won't stay since Angela's resting.”

“She's a heavy sleeper. You should be fine,” Fareeha whispered.

“I didn't know that about her. You'd know her bedroom habits better than I do.”

Ana pulled out a small disc and pressed a button underneath it. Above the disc, a holo-graphic image of her with Jack and Gabriel appeared. Fareeha caught her mother looking at old photos from the glory days of Overwatch from time to time. She watched Ana flip through a set of pictures. A few of them were of Fareeha, and some of just Jack or just Gabriel. She saw one of a younger, long-maned Reinhardt holding Torbjörn in a headlock. Ana finally stopped when she found a photo of Amélie and Gérard. 

“You said she had a choice to leave with them or stay with us. I hoped she would leave Talon now that she's free of that despicable man,” Ana spoke, her voice full of regret.

“I'm sorry, mum,” Fareeha whispered.

“They're both lost to us. Her and Gabriel.”

“That may be true. But we have to stop looking back and go forward. We can make something better of Overwatch.”

Ana smiled and returned the photo-disk to her bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to anyone who wanted an epic showdown between Fareeha and Widowmaker full of blood, sweat, and tears and French profanities.


	18. Chapter 18

For an hour that night, she watched the rain pelt against the large glass window in her penthouse office. Her eyes fixated on the many buildings comprising the Saint Petersburg skyline as she lost herself in thought.

Katya Volskaya was disappointed. Anosov lay dead in a nearby morgue but dead bodies can't talk. She hoped he could help her gain some leverage against those that now hold her in chains.

 _Talon_.

Would Anosov have cooperated? Would Talon have let him? They would know the risk of allowing Anosov to remain in her custody and send one of their assassins to end him. 

With reflection, Katya convinced herself it was better this way. She knew it was naive, but she secretly hoped Talon would leave her alone now after she assisted them with taking out Anosov.

The roar of thunder outside the window interrupted Katya's reverie. She turned away from it and gasped when her eyes found a dark figure standing in the middle of her dimly lit office. The unexpected visitor wore the uniform of a member of the Volskaya Industries maintenance crew This individual surely wasn't an employee of hers.

“Katya, my friend. Such a lovely evening, wouldn't you agree?” 

Katya's stomach dropped when she recognized the intruder's voice. 

“What do you want now, Sombra? Didn't Talon get what they wanted from me?” Katya asked with a sneer on her lips.

“I'm hurt, Katya,” Sombra held her hand against her chest in mock offense. “I just wanted to see how you and your daughter are doing. We really haven't had much time to talk in recent months. I've been so busy..." She paused, "And so have you.”

Sombra stepped forward and Katya could now see her smirking face underneath the Volskaya uniform cap resting on her head.

Katya crossed her arms and stiffened her body in defiance. “Just tell me why you're here. It's late and I don't have time for your games.”

Sombra rolled her eyes, “Okay, fine. Right down to business. Our dearly departed friend Anosov had a cybernetic cranial implant. I want it. You have his body here in Saint Petersburg, yes?”

Katya felt no love or pity for Anosov and had no issues with Sombra's request in itself. What bothered her was not knowing why Sombra wanted this device or even what it did. No one from her medical staff even mentioned the implant to her yet.

Of course, Katya couldn't deny Sombra's request.

“I can't refuse you now, can I?” Katya growled.

Sombra's face lit up, “Well, you can but it would have consequences. Don't worry, this is just for my own curiosity. I'm sure you're aware, I'm very interested in cybernetic technology.” 

“Fine. You'll get it.”

Sombra smiled widely, “I knew you'd be reasonable. I'll be in touch tomorrow.” She waved at Katya and then disappeared into thin air. 

Finally alone, Katya walked over to her desk and sat down behind it. The internal peace she made earlier with the Anosov mission now turned sour. Not only was she a puppet to Talon but a slave to Sombra's every whim. Refusing them meant ruin for her career, her country, and family. But how far would Talon push her? Everyone had moral limits, including her. They haven't breached them...yet.

Katya felt the most regret for those who served her loyally and remained in the dark about the Talon blackmail. She would drag them all into this unwillingly and unknowingly. Aleksandra Zaryanova was the best of her people and didn't deserve this.

Maybe there was still something she could do to protect her from this?

Katya reached over and dialed the woman's number on her desk phone.

“Aleksandra, I need to speak with you. It's urgent.”

* * *

A cool, dense fog covered the large cemetery like a blanket. Angela walked past rows of tombstones and memorials, unsure of her own destination, unsure of why she was even here...or where this cemetery was located. 

Angela continued along the path and nearly tripped over a set of tombstones that seemed to suddenly jump out in front of her. She squinted to read the names on each of them. They were for Gérard and Amélie Lacroix. A large hole lay in front of Amélie's grave. Angela peered down into it. Even in the fog, she could make out an empty coffin lying at the bottom of the grave.

A few feet away from Gérard and Amélie's graves rested another. The dirt mound in front of it looked fresh. This person just died recently. Angela approached the tombstone and bent down in front of it. Someone covered the person's name with black graffiti. 

_Va te faire foutre!!_

Angela spoke enough French to know this wasn't a loving eulogy for the dead person buried here. Behind the graffiti, she read the name engraved on the stone: Matvei Anosov. The man she killed just a few days ago. Again, she felt the pangs of guilt that haunted her so many times since then.

Angela's blood curdled when she heard laughter from somewhere ahead of her in the fog.

She wasn't alone.

Heart racing, Angela took a deep breath and walked around these tombstones to continue along the path through the cemetery. The fog grew thicker with each step. She only heard her own footsteps crunching on the gravel path. She thought about fleeing this place but she couldn't remember the location of the exit. Why did she come here again?

After a minute, Angela discovered another set of tombstones that stood taller than all the others around them. A chill ran throughout her entire body when she read the names. These were her parents graves. 

_My parents were buried in Switzerland and Gérard in France. What's going on here?_

To the right of her mother's grave, set a fresh one where someone vandalized the headstone with black graffiti. Just like Anosov's.

Angela knelt in front of this one to get a better look at the name and the word written on top. When she read it, her heart stopped. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her cries. On this stone, the name 'Ana Amari' was carved in the center but someone crossed out the name 'Ana' with black spray paint and wrote 'Fareeha' above it.

“I failed to kill the mother but the daughter is an acceptable substitute, no?” A voice with a thick French accent addressed her from behind.

Angela felt her blood boil. She quickly stood upright and turned around to face the owner of the voice, ready to fight. 

No one was behind her. 

She heard the sinister laugh again, somewhere in the distance.

Then, Angela woke up.

Her breathing was labored. Her palms sweaty. It took her only seconds to realize she was in her room at the Gibraltar base, but those seconds felt like an eternity. Fareeha lay beside her, the woman's chest gently moved up and down with each breath. 

Angela crept out of bed, careful not to wake her sleeping lover. She craved a large glass of water since her throat felt as dry as the desert. She poured herself a glass as she thought about her nightmare. It wasn't the first one she had since they returned from Russia a few days ago. She blamed them on guilt over killing Anosov and anxiety over Fareeha returning to Cairo soon.

Soon, as in tomorrow. 

Too soon.

Angela finished her drink and returned to her bedroom. She crawled into bed beside Fareeha, who opened her eyes to look over at her when she finally settled in.

“Bad dreams again?” Fareeha whispered. She propped herself up on her elbow and faced Angela.

Angela nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Angela reached over and tenderly touched Fareeha's lips with two of her fingers.

“No. It's all the same things we discussed already. Anosov and...I'm still worried about you returning home tomorrow.”

“I'm worried too,” Fareeha replied and then lightly kissed Angela's fingers. “But I'll be careful.”

Angela finally asked the question that had been on her mind these past days. 

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Fareeha smiled, “I would love that. But I thought you needed to take care of some things around here.”

“They can wait.”

Fareeha lay back down on the bed; her eyes lidded, “Okay, it's settled then. I don't expect to be there that long.”

Angela stroked some of the hair away from Fareeha's face and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek.

“I'm sorry, Fareeha. I know this is hard for you.”

“You'll be there so I'll be fine, Angela,” Fareeha murmured. Her eyes fully closed as she drifted off.

Angela's heart swelled as she watched Fareeha fall asleep beside her. 

_It should be criminal for someone to be so beautiful_ , she thought to herself.

Angela no longer dreaded tomorrow. No matter what happened in Cairo with Helix, she would be there for Fareeha.

In the dead of the night, laying quietly beside a now sleeping Fareeha, Angela found the courage to do something she wanted to do since leaving Russia. She also knew she could only do this because Fareeha couldn't hear her. Not very courageous, but it marked a big step for her.

Angela kissed Fareeha's temple and whispered “I love you” near her forehead.

* * *

The two of them woke up early the next morning. Angela slept peacefully until then...no more awful dreams that night. While Fareeha prepared a small breakfast for them, Angela packed for the trip; just enough to last her for a few days. Fareeha didn't expect to stay long. She planned to resign from Helix and tie up a few loose ends with them. Afterwards, she needed to pack up and possibly give away some of her belongings. Jesse and Lena agreed to help Fareeha move when the time came to pick her up again. Now, Angela would be there to help with the packing. 

These next days would be hectic, with the goal of getting Fareeha out of there as soon as possible. Her life was in danger the longer she remained with Helix, especially considering her recent involvement in aiding Volskaya with raiding a Talon base. Even though some in Talon benefited from removing Anosov, others might not see it as a good thing. Considering what Fareeha told Angela about the conversation she had with Reaper, it seems their 'Doomfist' faction within Talon isn't responsible for the death mark on Fareeha.

Regardless, someone wants her dead.

Fareeha and Angela said their goodbyes to everyone, with Fareeha spending an extended time saying goodbye to Ana. They joined Lena on the VTOL and soon took off from the Gibraltar hangar. The pair spent the flight discussing some plans for the next few days with Lena occasionally adding her own two cents into the mix. 

Apparently, Fareeha's friend from HSI, Safiya Tahan, invited them to dinner with her family later that night. Since they were scheduled to arrive by noon after leaving Gibraltar, they would have plenty of time to unpack and get ready for the evening.

Angela agreed to the dinner after Fareeha asked about it. She needed to spend time with her close friends before leaving. Angela would have wanted to go under any circumstances, really. She knew how much Fareeha valued her friendships and besides, Tahan always proved quite entertaining. Angela felt silly remembering how she used to get jealous about her.

The aircraft touched down near the Cairo safe house after an uneventful flight. They wished Lena a safe trip back and walked towards the nearest town. There, they caught a taxi back to Fareeha's apartment.

Fareeha opened her front door cautiously, in case an assassin waited inside. She walked into her kitchen and turned towards Angela with a smile,

“No assassin.”

“You seem disappointed,” Angela teased.

“Maybe a little.”

Angela kissed Fareeha on the lips then picked up their luggage to place in Fareeha's bedroom. Once inside, she noticed the little toy soldier on the dresser again and couldn't help smiling. She set the luggage down near her bed.

“Shit!” she heard Fareeha cry out from the living room.

Angela immediately left the bedroom to investigate what caused the outburst of profanity.

“What's wrong, Fareeha?”

“Just look at the news,” Fareeha replied while pointing towards her holo-television screen. 

Angela looked in that direction and saw Ana's face on the screen. This picture was from the early days of Overwatch. Next, the image changed to show another photo of Ana. This time, she was older; possibly taken right before she faked her death. The large caption under the pictures read, _Is Ana Amari still alive?_

In smaller text, Angela read the words, _Various eye-witness reports claim they saw the legendary Overwatch captain around Egypt. Is her daughter hiding her? The HSI captain has come under scrutiny for recent events related to the disappearance of one of her squad during a mission...._

Angela stopped reading, “You're right, Fareeha. This isn't good.”

“Does this have anything to do with what happened in Russia? Gabriel saw Ana there. He knew she was alive before then, though, so why now? Someone wants to take away her anonymity while making me look bad. I'm going to call her. Tell her she's all over the news in Cairo again. I'm sure she'll love that.” 

Fareeha stood up to grab the laptop she used to communicate with her mother and sat at a desk on the end of the room near the balcony. Her face was clouded with worry.

“I might have to cut our time here short by a day. Maybe even leave after I meet with Nassar and Sayed tomorrow,” Fareeha added while typing a message to her mother.

“Should we cancel dinner tonight?” Angela asked. 

“Tahan won't let us, I can tell you that for sure. Plus, Naima would cry and we don't want that now do we?”

“Who's Naima?”

Fareeha smiled at her and reached for a picture frame on the small bookcase near her desk. She stood up and handed it to Angela.

“Tahan's daughter. She'll ask you even more questions than her mother.”

Angela looked at the photo in the frame. It was of a young girl around six years old with big brown eyes and an adorable semi-toothless smile. She hated the idea of disappointing the little one but the family's safety was more important.

“You really think we should risk it, Fareeha?”

Fareeha's face grew somber, “I don't know. I think it's worse if we stay here. It's known at Helix I'm resigning. I told them days ago, remember? I don't think Talon will try anything while I'm obviously leaving.”

“Who will take over your position?”

“Likely, Saleh. I'll have to speak with him about it tomorrow.”

Angela watched in silence as Fareeha typed a reply to her mother.

“Won't he be in danger now?” Angela asked.

“Yes. I'm trying to convince him to leave with me. He doesn't want to go. He has a lot here.”

“So do you,” Angela added.

Fareeha stood up from her desk and walked over to Angela and wrapped her arms around her. 

“I have some things here. Most of what I care about is back where we just left,” Fareeha whispered against her ear. “Or is with you,” she added.

Angela snuggled closer to Fareeha and tried to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. Fareeha's world was falling down around her but Angela took comfort knowing she could provide her with some stability...and to help build something even greater in its place. 

Angela could now admit to herself that Fareeha always provided the same for her.

They continued to hold each other without speaking a word for another minute. 

Fareeha finally pulled away from her and smiled, “The worst thing about tonight will be Tahan interrogating me about my mom and if she's still alive. She takes everything she sees on the news way too seriously.”

Angela laughed, “You should tell her she is still alive. Just to see her reaction.”

Fareeha grinned, “Don't tempt me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to add something to this chapter that felt was missing from this story. You know, besides the random pov shift to a new character, of course. 
> 
> So, I added a dream sequence! With fog! We definitely needed one of those in here.
> 
> I was going to wrap this story up in a few chapters (basically, the point was to show Fareeha joining OW). But if the new upcoming Overwatch animated short is about her (as rumored) then i don't know. Maybe I'll want to write more if it fits with this? Maybe it will render everything I wrote non-canon and I'll be inspired to start a new story? Maybe the short will be about Junkrat blowing stuff up and nothing will change with Fareeha? Unless Junkrat tries to blow her up...but good luck with that dude. 
> 
> This chapter's a bit shorter since I wanted to do the next stuff from Fareeha's pov, and that will be next chapter!


	19. Chapter 19

Fareeha's stomach finally rebelled over all the kushari and basbousa she stuffed herself with during dinner at Tahan's apartment. The hot sauce added liberally to main course was probably the culprit but she couldn't help but treat herself. She typically ate much smaller proportions; her meals consisting of a sandwich during breaks at work or a serving of fruits and vegetables.

Luckily, she brought an antacid for this particular situation. Angela also needed one by the end of dinner, considering how much she had of the basbousa. Fareeha never met anyone who could rival that woman's sweet tooth.

After dinner and the medication of their turbulent stomachs, Fareeha led Angela outside onto the balcony of Tahan's apartment to get some fresh air. Naima followed them, of course. The little one trailed after Angela for most of the night, asking her a string of questions about Overwatch or what it's like to be a doctor or her favorite color or...

“Mama said you're her girlfriend...” Naima pointed towards Fareeha. “Does that mean you have to kiss her on the lips?”

A blush crept onto Angela's face. She hesitated to answer and her eyes shot towards Fareeha, who offered a small, encouraging smile in return.

“Um, yes. Sometimes.”

“Okay,” Naima replied, satisfied with that answer.

“I have a feeling you have another question, Naima,” Angela smiled down at the young girl at her side.

The girl beamed up at her, “Why do you like Fareeha?”

“Well, what do you like about her? You seem to really like her too.”

“She's funny and nice and brings me presents when she goes away,” Naima answered quickly. 

“Same for me. Fareeha's so beautiful and generous and loyal. And very intelligent, don't forget that. I could go on but I think you get the idea, Naima,” Angela replied but glanced over in Fareeha's direction.

Now it was Fareeha's face growing red; when those soft blue eyes met hers.

“Oh, okay,” was Naima's only reply. The three sat in silence for a few moments before the young girl spoke again. 

“I want to be a doctor like you when I grow up. Is it hard? Did you have to cut people open and stuff? I watched that on the internet once but momma wouldn't let me finish...”

“Naima, honey, you're not bothering Angela still?” Tahan suddenly walked out onto the balcony to join them. “You're father went to bed already. I think it's time you joined him.”

“No,” Naima proclaimed confidently and stood up tall to face her mother.

“Is she?” Tahan addressed Angela directly.

“No, she's fine,” Angela assured her with a small laugh.

“Good...” Tahan turned to Fareeha. “If you have a moment, Amari, I'd like to speak with you about work business.”

She motioned with her hand for Fareeha to follow her inside. She obviously wanted privacy.

Fareeha followed Tahan into the kitchen. Her friend's smiling face suddenly grew somber...very uncharacteristic of Tahan. 

“Now that our significant others are out of ear-shot, we can talk serious. Amari, do you know what's been happening this past week, since you were gone?”

Fareeha shook her head and Tahan filled her in on some of the strange things happening around the HSI base in Cairo. To begin with, they hired a new programmer to work on Tahan's team without consulting her first. Any other time, all resumes would filter through her but not for this person. Then, of course, there were all the rumors about Fareeha and how she would be done with Helix after her vacation. No one knew the details, but most believed she would be fired due to the botched mission involving Sarraf.

To make matters worse, there was a recent rumor in HSI that Ana Amari was still alive and Fareeha hid her mother away somewhere...some people believe this was by force. Tahan smirked when relaying that rumor.

Fareeha didn't find it as amusing and rolled her eyes, “They think I kidnapped my own mother and held her hostage for years?”

“Yes,” Tahan replied, matter-of-fact.

“Why would I do that? This is just bizarre.”

Tahan shrugged, “I don't know. People hear things like how you two were on the outs and you know how it goes from there...oh, you're fighting with your mom one day and the next, you knock her over the head and lock her in your basement. Some people lead really boring lives and need to hear this kind of garbage.”

Fareeha chuckled bitterly, “That's dumb. Why wouldn't I have just killed her? Would be less trouble than hiding her and feeding her. You have no idea how much my mum could eat.”

“Oh, some people think you were the one who killed her. There's a few variations of the rumor already.”

_Great_. The rumors were partially true. Her mom did have a room all to herself in Fareeha's apartment so she was technically hiding her. Maybe _sometimes_ she wanted to knock her over the head... 

“This is all an attempt to smear my name and get me out of there. Not like it's necessary. I'm leaving anyway,” Fareeha replied. She avoided mentioning Talon, unsure how much Tahan even knew about their involvement and wanted to prevent worrying her anymore than necessary.

Tahan's face grew serious again, “I know, Amari. There's some weird shit going on and even Saleh's feeling it. He'll have to take over for you. I don't think he wants to. I'm not sure if I want to stay much longer if this is going to continue.”

“I'll give you my honest opinion. Follow your instincts. Get out. Find a position somewhere else. You have to think of your own safety and your family's.”

Tahan laughed nervously, “It's that bad huh? I have a feeling you're not telling me everything you know. But I trust your word. I'll have to discuss it with Adeem. But what about you, Amari? You have plans then? They involve Angela, I'm betting. You're gonna follow her around while she does...doctor stuff?”

Fareeha smiled, “You could say that. I have to talk to Nassar tomorrow and officially resign first. Should be loads of fun.” 

Tahan returned the smile, “Speaking of Angela, we should go rescue her from my daughter.”

The pair made their way to the balcony and found Angela still sitting out with Naima in the warm, night air. The young girl fell asleep in Angela's lap, probably exhausting herself out from too many questions. Tahan gently scooped her daughter up in her arms and carried the little one against her right shoulder. Fareeha decided it was time for them to leave and whispered her farewell to Tahan and thanked her for the dinner. Angela added her own words of gratitude.

Once outside Tahan's apartment building, the urge struck Fareeha to pull Angela in close for a kiss. Maybe it was the moonlight? It reminded Fareeha of that night out in the desert, right after they defeated Talon and rescued Torbjörn. Angela looked just as radiant in the moon's glow tonight as she did back then.

Fareeha gently reached for Angela's face and turned her mouth up to meet her own. They shared a passionate kiss that ended when they heard a drunk passerby cheering them on from the street. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Fareeha took Angela by the hand and led her to the car. 

Once inside, Fareeha felt the desire to kiss Angela again. She blamed Angela's new lip gloss on her sudden inability to keep her lips off of hers. Or it was the moon. Yes, both explanations sounded plausible. 

Angela's eyes slowly closed as Fareeha leaned in for the kiss. She paused for a few seconds to admire Angela's long, blonde lashes as they fluttered ever so slightly in anticipation. She noticed the tint of red on Angela's cheek that appeared every time she got this close to her. Fareeha finally closed the distance and their lips met. They continued with softer kisses until Angela suggested it would be easier if they finish this activity at Fareeha's apartment. 

Fareeha couldn't argue with that logic.

* * *

Fareeha woke early the next morning with Angela's bare back-side pressed tightly against her own naked chest. She discovered her sheets tangled between her legs; the fabric only partly covered their naked, sweaty bodies. Fortunately, her room was warm. Their love making lasted late into the night and Fareeha barely slept enough for her meeting at HSI today...not that she wanted to complain.

Fareeha reached down to grab the sheet out from her legs. She needed to get showered and ready to leave in an hour. She started spreading the sheet over Angela but stopped when her lover murmured something and rolled over to face her.

Angela smiled devilishly at her, “Good morning, Fareeha. Did you get enough rest?”

“You know I didn't,” Fareeha winked at her. “But hopefully it will be a short meeting and I'll be right back here.”

“Do you have to go in at all? You can't just call them?” Angela's face teased her. She pounced on Fareeha, who toppled back onto the bed. Angela kissed along Fareeha's neck while her hand reached down to Fareeha's stomach. Her fingers danced over a sensitive spot on the side of Fareeha's mid-section.

Fareeha giggled, “Oh no not...stop it Angela!” Her protests went ignored.

She hated being so ticklish. On the other hand, she felt relieved that Angela seemed to return to her playful self since they arrived in Cairo. She had been somewhat distant after the incident with Talon and Anosov in Russia. 

Angela's attack finally relented. She propped herself on her elbows and leaned over Fareeha; her blonde hair draped down like a curtain over Fareeha's face.

“You win this time. Only because you have to leave so you can return sooner,” Angela whispered. Her face held a tenderness Fareeha never saw before.

Angela started kissing her again. Fareeha returned the kiss and rolled Angela off of her, switching positions with Fareeha now on top.

“I really have to get ready and take a shower,” she whispered to Angela through kisses.

“I need a shower too. Do you want me to join you?” Angela replied with a hint of mischief shining in her eyes.

Fareeha laughed and pulled herself up off of Angela. “You know that's a bad idea. I'll never leave in time if we do that.”

Fareeha walked over towards her bathroom and stopped briefly to give Angela one last over-the-shoulder glance. She caught her lover staring at her ass, of course. Not that Fareeha was any better; she used the moment to admire Angela nude body resting on her bed. 

She grinned back at Angela and left the bedroom.

* * *

The HSI headquarters in Cairo looked the same as always on the outside. Fareeha almost expected the place to be engulfed in flames or to have the Talon logo on the sign outside or something. But no, nothing changed to the eyes of someone outside.

But Fareeha knew better.

She didn't bother wearing her casual HSI uniform today. She dressed in simple dress slacks with a light beige buttoned top. She felt like an outsider now so might as well dress like one.

Fareeha entered the main doors to the headquarters instead of the side entrance closer to her office. The desk attendant greeted her and she smiled and waved at him. She signed in and he led her to the meeting with Nassar, Saleh, and possibly a few others.

Surprisingly, the attendant took her to the elevator and up to the top floor. She then followed him down the hallway towards the large office at the end. She read the name-plate on the door. This was Mr. Sayed's office. 

Fareeha took a deep breath and opened the door. Inside, Mr. Sayed sat at a metallic desk near the large, glass windows facing opposite the door. Nassar and Saleh sat on the other side of the desk. She closed the door behind her and walked towards them.

“Good morning, Captain Amari. I hope you don't mind that we're meeting in my office. I don't want us to be overheard,” Mr. Sayed greeted her from his desk. He motioned for Fareeha to take a seat across from him and in between Saleh and Nassar.

Fareeha took her seat. Nassar addressed her with a small nod. Saleh gave her an attempt at a reassuring half grin.

Mr. Sayed broke the silence after she sat down, “I'm sorry to hear you wish to resign, Captain, but it's understandable. The plague spreading throughout this company wants you to go and it's in your best interest to leave. Which is why we're meeting in my private office today. I don't trust that the other rooms here aren't bugged. I do trust the three of you,” Mr. Sayed gestured his right hand towards Fareeha, Nassar, and Saleh. “I know you and Nassar don't always see eye-to-eye, but he's always had your best interests in mind. He's been doing damage control for your reputation since you took your vacation.”

Fareeha looked over to Nassar, who just nodded again. The mood in the room was grim, as if they were at a funeral. Was it Fareeha's career they were mourning or something else?

Nassar continued, “Your position's already been replaced but Nassar had no say in it. The obvious choice would be Lieutenant Saleh here but someone higher up the ladder had other plans.”

Fareeha jumped in, “Wait, sir, so Saleh won't be the new Captain? That's ridiculous.”

She looked over at Saleh who shrugged, “Can't say I mind, Amari. If they were gunning for you they'd go after me next.”

Fareeha turned back to Sayed, “So, who is it?”

“No one you know,” Nassar answered before Sayed “They come from the U.S. Someone named 'Fisher' with only a few years experience with their HSI division.”

“Sounds fishy, pardon the pun,” Fareeha added. “Another Talon lackey I'd gather.”

“Probable,” Mr. Sayed leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. “You know, I'm an inventor at heart, like our friend Torbjörn. HSI bought my company around ten years ago so they could have exclusive rights to our Raptora technology. I thought I was doing the right thing by getting my armor systems into the hands of those that could use them for good. Now, I regret that decision.”

Mr. Sayed stood up from his desk and turned to look out the window, which faced downtown Giza. 

“I fear Talon has been a part of this company for a long time. Their infiltration isn't new but they've now decided to take action. If you think about it, who benefited from Overwatch's fall? How many of their old bases did HSI take on a contract to guard? Or the Anubis A.I.? The rot within this organization starts with some of its shareholders. It won't be easy to remove it.”

Fareeha now understood that the others weren't just mourning her career but the future of HSI as a whole.

Mr. Sayed turned to face them again, wearing a solemn expression. “Which is why I'm recommending that all of you follow Captain Amari's lead and get out of here. Unless you want to fall in line with whatever Talon and their masters have in store for us.”

“I already started looking for another opportunity, sir,” Nassar replied.

“Same here,” Saleh added.

Mr. Sayed smiled, “I'm glad to hear it. If you two don't mind, I'd like to speak with Captain Amari alone for a few minutes. You are both dismissed.”

Both men stood up from their chairs and saluted Fareeha and Mr. Sayed before leaving the room. 

Fareeha's stomach began fluttering from nerves...or was it from all the kushari she ate yesterday? 

No, had to be the nerves. Why did Mr. Sayed want to speak with her alone?

Mr. Sayed sat down again and pulled open a drawer at the end of his desk. He withdrew a blue hard-bound notebook from inside and placed it in front of Fareeha. 

He smiled at her. “Relax, Captain. I want to talk about you and Torbjörn and Overwatch. I know it wasn't a coincidence he ended up near that old base with Dr. Ziegler. Some of the things he let slip to me during their visit...let's say, he doesn't hide secrets very well. At least, not from an old friend like me. I know Overwatch is active again. I'm betting those are your plans after you leave here today. To be like your mother.”

Fareeha swallowed hard and her fingers fidgeted against the fabric of her pants on her lap. Should she tell him the truth? He figured it out on his own and there was no point in trying to deny it.

“That's mostly correct, sir. But I'm not doing this so I can be like my mother. The existing institutions around the world that are supposed to protect innocent people and administer justice are compromised because of Talon's rise. Overwatch is needed now more than ever and I want to be a part of that.”

Mr. Sayed gave her a kind smile, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. Your mother would be proud if she was still with us today. Unless, you really are hiding her in your basement.”

He winked to signify that he was joking. Fareeha laughed to cover her discomfort over continually lying to everyone about her mother. 

“By the way, I have a gift for you in there,” Mr. Sayed nodded his head in the direction of the blue notebook on the desk in front of her. “Have Torbjörn help you with it. That old man needs something to keep his hands busy and out of trouble.”

Fareeha opened the notebook to the first page and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she read over the table of contents. This notebook contained full schematics for the latest version of her Raptora combat suit. 

“I can even help you acquire some of the materials. We can't have you fighting Talon in anything less than the best, now can we?”

* * *

After saying her farewells and gathering the few belongings she kept in her office, Fareeha left the HSI base to return home. She made just one stop on the way; to a florist shop near her apartment. An inexplicable romantic mood suddenly struck her so she created the plan to pick up a small bouquet of roses for Angela. She purchased the flowers from the florist and immediately drove home.

When Fareeha opened the door to her apartment, she found Angela in the kitchen preparing a pot of coffee. Angela smiled over at her before rushing to Fareeha, throwing her arms around her. 

They held each other for a brief moment until Angela pulled away, “How did it go, Fareeha?”

“Well, I resigned for good. I'm just worried about the future of the company. Mr. Sayed gave me the schematics for the Raptora armor so I could make my own. Also, these are for you.”

Fareeha handed Angela the roses. She hopped up and pecked a kiss on Fareeha's lips.

“Thank you, they're lovely.” Angela lifted the roses to her nose to breathe in their scent.

“Um, they reminded me of you. The color. They're red just like your cheeks last night.”

Fareeha knew she had room to improve in her sweet talking game but she tried, at least.

Angela flashed her a devious smile from behind the roses that covered part of her mouth, “Which set of cheeks are you referring to exactly?”

Fareeha's face burned hot. How could she forget about the spanking last night? She walked right into that one.

“Both,” she laughed and leaned forward to place a kiss on Angela's cheek (the one on her face and not elsewhere).

“That reminds me, I cleaned up your room a bit. Apparently someone knocked your little toy soldier off the dresser last night. I also washed your sheets. Just don't expect me to cook dinner. I'm awful,” Angela walked over to a cupboard in search of a container to hold the roses.

While Angela placed the roses in a small vase she found, Fareeha prepared herself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table. 

“I'm ordering out tonight anyway,” Fareeha continued. “Saleh is coming over to visit one last time before I leave. If he starts drinking, he'll probably just stay on my couch tonight. We'd have to behave a little better than last night.”

Angela approached Fareeha at the table and kissed her forehead before taking a seat next to her, “I have no problem behaving myself. You're the one with no self control.”

“Hey, that's a lie and you know it. I'm pretty sure you started ripping my clothes off last night as soon as we got back here. You also made the first move on me, remember?”

Angela's eyes went wide, mocking an innocent expression, “I don't know what you mean, Fareeha.”

Fareeha laughed and sipped on her coffee. Angela kissed her on the forehead again and left the table, stating she needed to check on the laundry. She returned minutes later as the sheets still needed more time to dry. 

“So, you're going to create your own Raptora armor, Fareeha? You know, I wanted to make a few modifications to my Valkyrie armor. I was thinking about adding the ability to fly independently of requiring a target. It could help me get out of dangerous situations not possible with the current way it functions. Maybe we could help each other? You know a lot more about flying suits than I do.”

Fareeha smiled at her, “I like that idea. I was going to have Torbjörn help with some things. Plus, he can chaperone and make sure we don't get too distracted with each other.”

Angela laughed, “That's a good idea, but he's not touching my armor. He'll add retractable turrets to the wings or something ridiculous.” 

Fareeha chuckled and finished the last of her coffee. They spent the remainder of the morning and afternoon packing and cleaning up around the place. Fareeha left the apartment for a few minutes to pick up some more whiskey and beer for tonight. Saleh would likely need a few drinks and she knew she definitely needed them.

Earlier that day, Saleh told Fareeha he and his girlfriend Ranya broke up in the past week. She was graduating from school soon and planned to move away from Cairo. Saleh's own future was a huge question mark. He wanted to work locally in Cairo, though, since his family was still here.

Saleh texted Fareeha a half an hour ahead of when he planned to leave for her place. She ordered some takeout for them all from a local Chinese restaurant. Nothing too spicy this time, though.

The food arrived before Saleh, who ran late due to the traffic. Around ten minutes later, Fareeha heard another knock on the door. She answered and found Saleh standing outside, holding a brown paper bag hugging what appeared to be a bottle of liquor.

“Hey, Captain Amari!” He stepped into the apartment and grabbed Fareeha for a tight hug. He reeked of alcohol. He started the party early, it seemed.

Saleh pulled away and held up the bottle covered in the brown bag, “I brought my own just in case you didn't have anything.” He finally noticed Angela standing behind Fareeha.

“And hello Mrs. Captain Amari!” He walked over and hugged a very confused looking Angela.

“Her name's Angela, if you've forgotten,” Fareeha corrected him.

Saleh released Angela and waved his hand in the air in front of Fareeha, “I know. It's a joke, relax. Aren't you two practically married by now? This has got to be your longest relationship now by far, Amari. I think that counts for something special.”

Angela giggled into her mouth as her face flushed the color of the roses now sitting in a vase on the counter. Fareeha assumed her own face probably matched.

Fareeha rolled her eyes at Saleh and grabbed the bottle from his hand, “I think you've had enough to drink already.”

Saleh pouted at her but then wrapped his right arm around Angela's shoulder. He started whispering loudly to her, “Hey, Angela. You know, I was the one that told her not to dump you like she did all the others. You can thank me when you're married and have babies or whatever. By the way, Tahan told me you were really good with her daughter....”

“Saleh...stop,” Fareeha interrupted him. His words made Fareeha feel uncomfortable on Angela's behalf. She remembered how reluctant Angela was to enter any type of relationship with her. Marriage and baby talk took it to a whole new level. Granted, Fareeha was assuming here. They never talked about their future as a couple.

Fareeha had to admit, this picture of her and Angela that Saleh painted appealed to her as an ideal. It just wasn't practical, with the world in its current state; with Talon running amok. 

Saleh removed his arm from Angela. “Okay, sorry, Captain! Wait, can't call you that anymore.” He rubbed his hands together. “I'm starving, how about we eat something?”

As she served dinner, Fareeha tried to apologize to Angela with her eyes. Angela must have figured out her intention, returning her look with a smile before mouthing the words 'Don't worry'. 

Fareeha prepared a drink for her and Angela while Saleh started to dig in to his meal. As they ate, they discussed HSI and Saleh's current job prospects. He talked a bit about Ranya but quickly drifted towards describing a new woman he met online recently. Saleh then asked Fareeha about her future plans, but she couldn't give him the honest answer. Instead, she told him how she wanted to take some time to look for something new and spend more time with Angela. He seemed satisfied with that response and didn't question her further. 

A few hours after dinner, and a couple more drinks later, Saleh finally passed out on Fareeha's sofa. Fareeha was just glad she got the chance to spend some time with her friends before she left. She planned on calling Lena and Jesse tomorrow for them to come pick her up. She already notified the owner of her apartment that she would be moving out by months end. 

Everything was set. 

But why did she feel so sad and guilty? Fareeha was losing such an important part of her life now. 

At least the future held promise.

Fareeha and Angela retired to the bedroom shortly after Saleh fell asleep. Once the door closed, Angela wrapped her left arm around Fareeha's waist and began stroking Fareeha's cheek with the back of the fingers on her right hand.

“Is something wrong, Fareeha? You looked troubled,” Angela asked with concern filling her gorgeous blue eyes. “You're sad about leaving, aren't you?”

“A little,” Fareeha whispered. “I poured a lot into my life here. I'm just glad you're here now. It makes leaving and saying goodbye somewhat bearable.”

Angela smiled warmly and pulled her into a hug. “Of course, I want to be here if you need me.”

“I'm also sorry about some of the things Saleh said tonight. It wasn't his place to suggest... I didn't put him up to it, by the way,” Fareeha whispered against the loose strands of Angela's hair close to her ear.

Angela lifted her head from Fareeha's shoulder and looked up into her eyes again. Her face wore a different expression: confusion.

“You don't have to apologize, Fareeha. Nothing he said was offensive. Unless it offends you?”

Fareeha couldn't tell exactly, but Angela almost looked hurt. Did she take Fareeha's discomfort over Saleh's words the wrong way? That Fareeha could never see Angela as a serious partner? Saleh mocking her past relationship failures all night didn't help with that perception either.

It was true that Fareeha eventually got scared and ran away from close, romantic relationships in the past but she wanted this time to be different; even if the thought of it frightened her sometimes. Angela's initial reluctance to start dating made this easier at one point but things seemed to change between them in recent months, especially these past few weeks. 

Fareeha leaned forward to kiss Angela on the forehead. She then reached her hand over to cup Angela's chin, lifting her eyes up to meet hers. 

“Of course I'm not offended. Who wouldn't want to marry a doctor? And a beautiful one at that?”

Angela's eyes began watering. Not the reaction Fareeha expected. “I hope you wouldn't joke about this, Fareeha. About my feelings.”

Fareeha leaned in closer to where their foreheads barely touched with one another.

“I'm not joking,” she whispered quietly. “I was maybe trying to lighten things up but your feelings are important to me.”

Angela withdrew her head from Fareeha's and looked at her with watery, pleading eyes. “I want to know how you feel...do you love me?”

Fareeha felt her own eyes growing damp. She knew it was a time for honesty. 

“Of course, Angela. I love you. I love you so much.”

Angela buried herself against Fareeha's shoulder without a word. They held each other for a minute while the fabric on Fareeha's shirt grew wet from Angela's tears. Fareeha stayed silent and stroked the hair on the back of Angela's head.

Angela broke the silence when she started laughing.

“I was afraid to ask that question but I'm glad I found the courage. I feel like such a fool, now. I'm sorry I put you on the spot like that but...I needed to hear it from you,” Angela whispered against Fareeha's shoulder.

“I think I needed to say it. Angela, I don't want you to be afraid to ask me or tell me anything,” Fareeha replied earnestly.

“Please know that you can do the same with me,” Angela lifted her head up and kissed Fareeha on the lips.

“I love you, Fareeha,” she whispered against her mouth, in between kisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> d'aaawwww
> 
> this chapter is dedicated to MERCY'S NEW VALKYRIE SUIT!!
> 
> she can fly with Pharah now


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for this fic and a shorter one. I just wanted to wrap it up with a bow. It's possible I'll write more in this story later (either one shots or multi-chapter). For this one, I got Fareeha into Overwatch and smoothed stuff over with her and Ana and ended the story with Angela and that a-hat from Talon and got them together...so I accomplished my goals!! 
> 
> I'm just thankful that after 20 chapters, I've yet to accidentally paste an entire chapter into this summary box instead of the main text box below.

A few weeks passed since Fareeha left Helix and moved to Gibraltar, officially joining the rag tag band of vigilantes known as Overwatch. For now, she officially shared a room with Lena until hers would be ready, though Angela saw more of her than the young pilot. Most nights, Fareeha ended up in Angela's bed, to no one's surprise around the base. 

Angela doubted this sleeping arrangement would change much, even after they finally cleaned up Fareeha's designated bedroom, which is likely why the room remained a mess. 

A new morning dawned in Gibraltar and Angela stirred awake in her bed. She reached over to wrap an arm around her lover, but found that side of the bed empty. This wasn't unusual as Fareeha liked to wake up early to start working on her Raptora armor. Sure enough, Angela found a hand-written note from Fareeha on the desk near her laptop, stating she could find her in Torbjörn's workshop. 

The note was signed with a heart.

Angela smiled at the note and then placed it on top of the one Fareeha left for her yesterday; this one signed with kisses. She opened up her laptop and noticed a message for a missed call that had come in over her communicator earlier this morning. 

The caller was Katya Volskaya. Angela wondered if the woman wanted to discuss the Anosov incident again. No, that couldn't be it. That happened a few months ago and Katya already expressed her displeasure over the man's death. Repeatedly. 

Taking a deep breath, Angela listened to the message from Katya. She apologized for the unplanned call and requested that Angela return it as soon as possible. Before ending the message, Katya mentioned she an offer for her.

This piqued Angela's curiosity.

She rushed over to her closet to find a decent outfit to wear and threw on a light blue sweater and a pair of black jeans. She paused before the mirror above her dresser to quickly fix her hair, going for a 'less messy than usual' ponytail look.

Satisfied with her hastily put together appearance, Angela sat at the desk in front of the laptop and dialed a call in to Katya's personal line. The Russian woman answered after a few rings.

“Greetings, Dr. Ziegler. I'm glad you could return my call. I want to apologize to you again for the suddenness of it, especially considering our last conversation wasn't the most pleasant.”

Katya was dressed sharply in a maroon colored business suit; her dark hair slicked back into a bun. Angela surely felt under-dressed compared to her but Katya couldn't expect otherwise due to the short notice given for the meeting.

Angela shifted herself up and closer to the screen. “No need to apologize, Ms. Volskaya. Your message sounded urgent. Is this in regards to the Norilsk mission?”

Katya's face remained expressionless. “Not exactly, Dr. Ziegler. After further reflection, I'm...satisfied with the outcome from it. Furthermore, I will say that you and your people left a good impression on me and my associate. Do you remember Aleksandra Zaryanova?”

“Yes, of course. Her contribution to the mission made a great impact,” Angela replied.

Katya's lips betrayed the slightest smile, “Excellent. Perhaps this will be less complicated than I feared. You are a very resourceful woman, Dr. Ziegler. I shouldn't be surprised coming from an ex-member of Overwatch.”

The manner in which Katya stressed the word 'Overwatch' unsettled Angela. Did she know they operated again under that banner?

Katya continued, “You've found yourself some interesting allies: Lindholm, Wilhelm, Amari's daughter. If you plan on opposing Talon further, I would like to assist you by offering you another ally. I worry Aleksandra's potential is limited with Volskaya Industries. She leads my security forces and the position requires her involvement in typically mundane tasks around my company. I believe she can accomplish much more unhindered by bureaucracy and routine. Which is why I'm offering you her services—to join your team. I spoke with her about it and she looks forward to the possibility.”

Angela agreed that Aleksandra would make a great addition to Overwatch. The only downside was trusting Katya wasn't sending her to spy on them. After the call, she could discuss this with the others, at least.

“It's a tempting offer, Ms. Volskaya. But how can I trust you're not just sending her to keep an eye on me?”

“I know our partnership was shaky in Norilsk and my involvement suspicious in the first place. But I'm ready to cut all ties with Aleksandra. She no longer reports to me or anyone in Volskaya Industries. She doesn't even have to join you but she wants to. In all honesty, she should be making this call herself but I reasoned that you'd trust this more coming from me.”

“I'll consider it. But no promises,” Angela responded after brief hesitation.

“Thank you. I will send you Aleksandra's contact information in case you'd like to speak with her yourself. Unless you have anymore questions, we can finish this call.”

Angela shook her head and they said their awkwardly polite farewells before ending the call. Later on that day, Angela could discuss Katya's proposal with the others at the Overwatch all agents meeting. She saved off Aleksandra's contact information until then.

For now, she wanted to check in on Fareeha and make progress on updating her Valkyrie suit. She tossed on a white lab coat and left her room, finding Mei sitting on the sofa chatting with Snowball. Mei also offered to help Angela and Fareeha work on their combat armor systems. Angela felt invigorated, surrounded by so many creative and intelligent people again. It reminded her of some of the happier times in the past as an Overwatch researcher. Those moments became few and far between in the final days.

But this was their second chance and they all needed to do better. The world was at stake. 

Angela spoke with Mei for a few minutes and the climatologist promised to join her in Torbjörn's workshop later after making an update to some of her own equipment. She allowed Mei get back to her work and left their apartment to head to her destination, stopping in the lounge area on the way to pick up a cup of coffee and a small box of pastries. Fareeha might be hungry after working on her armor all morning. And if she wasn't...Angela had other plans for the pastries. 

On that note, she heard her stomach growl. 

Leaving the lounge with her stash of sweet baked goods, Angela continued on to the workshop. She only passed Jesse along the way. He tipped his hat towards her and winked. She smiled at him while her stomach grumbled again. The cowboy didn't seem to hear its greeting.

Angela reached the workshop's doors and swung them open while balancing the paper cup full of coffee on top of the box of pastries. She found Fareeha at the far right end of the large open room, bent over close to the floor working on attaching a part to the left greave of her Raptora armor. Angela's own Valkyrie suit hung on a nearby armor stand. She still refused to allow Torbjörn anywhere near it. 

Maybe she was being petty, but she could never forget the biotic rifle incident.

Angela placed the coffee and pastries on top of a pile of blueprints on Torbjörn's messy desk and walked over to the end of the room where Fareeha worked. As she approached, she caught a better look at her lover.

Fareeha wore a pair of dark blue athletic pants with some sports team's logo on the side. She wore a tight white tanktop with her hair pulled back into a half-ponytail. Angela paused her steps to watch Fareeha's shoulder and back muscles tense as she twisted off a part of her armor.

Angela's hunger for the pastries was replaced by a more primal one. 

“Angela, is that you?” Fareeha called back to her without turning from her work. 

Angela shook her head, clearing it from the mesmerization of her girlfriend's muscles. “Yes, I brought you something to eat if you're hungry.” 

Fareeha stood up from the ground and set her hand-tool on the workbench near her armor. She turned towards Angela wearing a teasing smile.

“I ate breakfast already but I bet you're hungry.”

As Fareeha approached her, she pulled out a small towel from her pocket and wiped a sheen of sweat from her forehead. Angela's eyes traveled down from Fareeha's face and found themselves stuck at the woman's cleavage peeking out from the top of her tank-top. She admired the view for seconds before mentally kicking herself. It was far too early for these type of thoughts and they both had a lot of work to do.

“I am,” Angela replied, her eyes returning to Fareeha's dark brown ones. As if on cue, her stomach growled again. 

Fareeha laughed and swung the towel over her right shoulder, “I think you should take care of that before we get started today.”

“There's something else I need to take care of first,” Angela smiled and wrapped her arms around Fareeha's neck, pulling the taller woman down towards her. They shared a kiss, though Fareeha kept her hands off of Angela.

“You know, I'm all sweaty and greasy,” Fareeha replied after they pulled away. She bent her head down to look over her tanktop. Angela's eyes followed. She finally notice a spot of grease on Fareeha's shirt right above her hip. Why didn't she see that before? Oh right, she was distracted by other things.

Angela let out an amused sigh and pulled Fareeha in close again. “I guess this means we'll have to take a shower together later.”

They kissed again with Fareeha wrapping her arms around Angela's waist this time. Fareeha was the first to break the kiss.

“You really like taking showers with me. I wonder why?” she whispered against Angela's lips.

“It's just efficient. Takes care of two needs at once,” Angela replied before her mouth returned to Fareeha's.

They spent around a minute teasing the others lips with their own lips, teeth, or tongue but the moment wouldn't last much longer. You can only make out in the middle of someone else's workshop for so long.

“Bah, do you see what I have to deal with everyday, Ana! Ever since your daughter arrived. They can't keep their hands to themselves,” Torbjörn grumbled from somewhere behind Angela. She released her hold on Fareeha and spun around to face the new visitors.

Torbjörn stood in between both Bastion and Ana. Bastion waved at them and chirped a friendly greeting. Ana stepped forward with amusement written across her face.

“Fareeha Amari. I thought I raised you better than this?” Ana stopped in front of them and crossed her arms. She tried to give them her most serious, angry pouty face but failed as her lips slowly turned into a smile.

“I'm sorry mum, Torbjörn and ah, Bastion. I'll get back to work,” Fareeha replied. From the look on her face, she struggled to hide a laugh. Before Fareeha left Angela's side, she grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The touch of their fingers lingered as she walked away.

Torbjörn didn't seem to notice the gesture. He marched past them to follow Fareeha to her Raptora armor at the other side of the room.

“I should bring you here more often, Ana,” he called back as he neared the work area. 

Ana laughed, “I'm surprised you can't handle them yourself, Torbjörn. Your wife tells me you're good at killing the romance in any situation.”

“Ha, funny, Ana,” Torbjörn barked back at her. He bent over his tool box and soon Angela heard the loud sounds of tools clanking together. 

With Ana, Bastion, and Torbjörn now in the workshop, Angela had a flashback to that time they all met in the very same room before that first mission to explore the Talon base near Cairo. But it wasn't quite the same. Fareeha was now here with them. Angela believed wholeheartedly that this made them all better off than before. 

For her, she found a lover and a close friend with Fareeha; the closest she ever felt with anyone. Finding love didn't change Angela's life in the dramatic ways the cheesy romance movies she watched as a youth tried to convince her. The differences were many subtle things that added up. It was knowing someone wanted to comfort you on your worst days and knowing that person needed you to do the same for them. It was small gestures and glances and touches. It was feeling connected with another person even through mundane daily activities. Just knowing someone else was there with you, even if just in thought, brought Angela immense comfort. 

She denied herself this level of emotional intimacy with another for too long. She forgot how it felt, even with her parents.

With the others, Fareeha gave them a clear sense of direction. She already put plans into motion to create some type of organization within the Overwatch ranks. Before now, most agents did whatever they felt necessary to contain an isolated threat posed by Talon. But Fareeha felt they need more structure if they wanted to have a fighting chance against the terrorist organization. The others followed her lead.

Last, but not least, Fareeha's addition to the Overwatch team had the greatest impact on Ana. The old sniper tried to hide it with her snark but everyone could tell the difference in her demeanor. It was as if a thick veil of sorrow finally lifted from Ana's life. Her smiles were now sincere and her steps lighter. In the past year since reuniting, both mother and daughter learned to accept the other for who they are and cherish the time they have left together with war on the horizon. 

In Angela's opinion, this was the true reason to call the Cairo mission a success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading all 20 chapters of this. Yes, that especially means you! 
> 
> I was worried it would get only 100 hits or something.


End file.
